Naruto: The Second Coming
by NYC01234
Summary: Born from tragedy, Naruto Uzumaki is a cursed child. As an orphan taken into the Uchiha clan due to a bizarre development with his eyes, he once again learns what it is like to have a family. Forced to make an impossible decision, he does his best to do right by those he has sworn to protect...even if that entails his death. (Sharingan Naruto. Female Itachi).
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter One~**

* * *

 **"Naruto Uzumaki"**

 _"Protect your sister, Naruto," a voice echoed in the darkness. "You are the Child of Prophecy...I know it."_

Naruto sat up in his bed, a panting mess with sweat soaking his sheets and clothing. He looked at his clock and discovered that it was five o'clock in the morning, an entire hour before he usually woke up. Nevertheless, he had become accustomed to nightmares such as these, and rose from his bed with the full knowledge that sleep would continue to evade him should he chose to stubbornly stay.

The death of his father and his mother...it still haunted him, even after being given two years to come to terms with what had happened. On a day that was supposed to be filled with such joy, all he felt was immense sorrow. That night his sister was brought into this world, only for his parents to be taken away immediately after.

"Naruto?" a gentle, feminine voice softly called out from the other side of his bedroom door.

Already composed, Naruto turned toward his door and answered, "Yes?"

As quietly as one could, the door was opened to reveal a beautiful woman with raven-colored hair and onyx eyes. She wore a simple, dark-colored blouse underneath a lightly-shaded yellow apron. She looked down at the child before her and smiled sadly, the way she always did when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Having trouble sleeping again?" the woman, her name Mikoto, asked after leaning forward to get to his level.

"Yes."

Mikoto's expression grew a bit pensive as she looked at the boy she had taken in two years ago. Kushina, Naruto's birth mother, had always said that her son was mature for his age but mentioned that it came at a cost. He wasn't playful, friendly, or any way sociable. Seemingly stern at all times, it was tough to crack through his proverbial shell and see the young child underneath.

Despite herself, Mikoto smiled to lift the mood, "Your brother and sister haven't woken up yet, and Izumi has gone on a trip with Fugaku. I was wondering if a strong boy would help me run some errands. Hmm, I wonder if there is anyone in this house like that?"

She stroked her chin a bit and smirked as Naruto looked at her with a tilt of his head. Even Naruto was susceptible to clever paternal coercion.

"I can help you, Lady Mikoto," Naruto offered respectfully with a nod of the head.

As he went into his closet to get dressed, Mikoto faltered a bit. Two years, and he still spoke with her in such a formal way. She had never outright told him that he could refer to her as mother, but she'd be lying if she didn't relish such an idea. An eldest son...it was something she had always dreamed of having ever since Sasuke was born. Izumi was a great elder sister to Sasuke, but Mikoto wanted there to be a brotherly figure for her youngest to learn from and admire.

"I am ready," Naruto announced quietly after walking back into view.

Mikoto smiled when she saw him, internally gushing over how much of a 'cutie wootie' he was. He was dressed in the clothes she had purchased for him, making him look like an actual member of the clan. A short sleeved t-shirt with a high collar and a pair of short with shinobi sandals. Only his blonde hair made him stand out from other Uchiha children.

"Look at my handsome little man," she smiled with her hands on her hips. "How did you get so handsome?"

Naruto blinked and shrugged his shoulders, "My mother said that I got my looks from my father."

Mikoto hummed, "Well, she was certainly correct. As you get older, I'll have to fight the girls off of you with a stick," she said before chuckling to herself.

Soon after, the duo walked through the kitchen to the exit, with Mikoto making sure to grab her handbag on the way. Naruto honestly had no clue where they were going, but it didn't matter. This woman was his host, and had taken him in when he had nobody else. He owed her more than a few favors.

As they walked the streets, many people who were starting their days stopped and bowed at the two, or more specifically, Naruto. All non-shinobi in the village treated him with complete respect, always bowing and using the 'sama' honorific when addressing him. He was, the son of the Fourth Hokage, after all…the very man who saved the village from destruction.

Mikoto frowned at the treatment, wishing that everyone would merely treat Naruto like an ordinary boy. This had never been an issue for the Third Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi, who for the most part wasn't given any special status due to his parentage. No...Naruto was different. He was the son of the village's most celebrated, most revered hero.

The two went to various stores and markets, buying several household supplies that they had been running low on. Naruto just stood at Mikoto's side and watched as she navigated through the village like an expert, apparently having gone through this routine many times before. It made him wonder…

"Lady Mikoto?" he asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

She looked down at his incredibly quickly, as if excited he had spoken at all, "Yes, Naruto?"

"Do you miss being a shinobi?"

Mikoto pursed her lips in thought. That part of her life hadn't crossed her mind in quite some time. After giving birth to her eldest daughter, Izumi, five-years-ago, she had decided to retire from her shinobi career in favor of supporting her infant child. And now that she was essentially raising two, two-year-old children, along with Naruto and Izumi as well, ninjutsu and genjutsu had become a distant memory.

"I suppose I miss the excitement," she confessed with a small smile. "However, I've now come to realize that there are things more important than being a shinobi."

Naruto was caught in a rare moment of confusion, "Like what?"

They both stopped in the middle of the street, and Mikoto kneeled in front of him with a smile. She then proceeded to tap him on the nose with her pointer finger.

"Well...you, silly," she explained with a chuckle. "You, Izumi, your brother and your sister are all precious to me. I love you with all my heart."

Naruto's brows raised, "Sasuke...is my brother?" he asked. He was always confused when she made it seem as if they were actually related.

Mikoto smiled, "Of course his is. Do you see the way Sasuke's eyes light up whenever he sees you? You are his favorite person in the whole world...his big brother. I think that is what he would want you to be for him. Don't you think?"

"I'm Sasuke's...big brother?"

Mikoto nodded with a smile. Perhaps he was finally beginning to understand? Looking at his innocent face, for once not stuck in a look of seriousness, she decided to say something she had wanted to say for quite a while. She just hoped that if Kushina were somewhere watching, she would approve of what was about to be said; however, knowing her old friend, she knew that she would.

"Yes, Sasuke is your little brother...which would also make me your mother."

Naruto looked up at her and blinked several times. She assumed that for Naruto, this was pretty much the same as an ordinary person tripping forward in surprise. As she waited anxiously for him to respond, she hoped to god that she hadn't crossed any boundaries. Naruto was old enough to remember his mother, and the last thing Mikoto wanted was him thinking she was trying to replace Kushina.

"Okay, I understand now," Naruto said after having composed himself. "Thank you for taking me out with you this morning...mother."

Everything froze, and the world seemed to light-up around her. After all of this time, she felt that she had finally broken through. She had finally made it clear to Naruto just how she felt about him as a part of her life. He wasn't a guest at her house...he was family. She embraced him and cried into his shoulder. Naruto was confused but remained still until she finished.

He owed her as much, after all...and he would probably never be finished repaying her.

* * *

"Father, what are we doing here?" Izumi asked calmly as she and her father stood at the edge of a dock.

Fugaku, a stern man and the patriarch of the Uchiha family, stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Quite unlike his wife, he was never one for small talk or touching moments. As the leader of his clan, it was his duty to manage things, and that required a level head and even mind.

"Show me," was all he said.

Izumi was smart enough to figure out what he was requesting, and nodded before weaving through several hand signs. Once she reached the end, she placed her hands in the tiger seal, and filled her chest to capacity with fire chakra. Once it reached the limit, she expelled the chakra out of her mouth in the form of a flame, a continuous torrent of fire that covered a significant portion of the lake before dissipating after being extinguished.

Other than a widening of the eye, nothing much changed in Fugaku's demeanor as he watched his daughter's impressive display. Displays of utter genius were something he had come to regularly expect from her, after all.

"You are capable of this, and yet you lost your place at the top of the class?" it wasn't a criticism...nor was there any anger behind his words...just curiosity.

Izumi turned to face him, her expression calm, not offended by his words in the slightest, "Naruto-kun was transferred to my class recently, father."

Upon hearing the news, Fugaku's shoulders sagged in a bit of relief. At least it was Naruto, a ward of the Uchiha clan, who stood atop the Academy rankings. His worst fear was that some nobody would surpass his daughter for the top spot. He hated having to be so superficial, but such things mattered now that the clan's standing in the village had taken a steep decline.

"That boy is an era-defining talent...I cannot fault you for being behind him," Fugaku said, in his own attempt at reassurance. "He is not a fair comparison for anyone your age."

Izumi noted a hint of pride in her father's voice, and it made her happy. Out of all the members of their family, her father had been the least close with Naruto. Therefore, to hear that he was at least proud of the strength of his adopted charge brought Izumi great relief. She would be sure to inform mother later.

"Nevertheless, I don't want you to be content standing behind him," Fugaku continued as he and his daughter left the dock. "Attempt to surpass him, or at the very least reach him. You represent the Uchiha at the utmost level."

Izumi tilted her head, "But Naruto is a member of our clan. He represents the Uchiha as well."

Fugaku shook his head, "You are wrong. He is a ward of this clan. Only someone of our blood can be called our kin," he explained. "We can care for him as if he is one of our own, but he will always be an outsider in some ways. He may represent us as you say, but only to an extent. You are of my blood, and I wish for you to stand at the top."

"If Naruto is not one of us, then how does he have the-"

Fugaku turned to her sharply, sternly interrupting her words, "That piece of information is not to be spoken aloud," he explained. "The Hokage forbade it until he deems it to be public knowledge, and I agree with his decision. For now, make no mention of Naruto's eyes. Understood?"

"Yes, father."

The father-daughter duo then walked through the streets of Konoha in relative silence. Neither were considerably talkative, and were actually more content to just observe and listen to others before speaking. Only when among the entirety of their family did they chose to open up a bit more, but they never became chatty. Naruto was similar to them in that regard.

"Father."

"Yes?"

"I like spending time with Naruto. I don't see him as an outsider."

Fugaku merely gave her a momentary side glance before switching his attention back forward. Izumi knew that if he disapproved of what she had said, he would have made it known, so she took his silence as acceptance. He may view Naruto as a mere guest in their house, but she didn't...and apparently, he was okay with her feeling that way.

"You are to remain friends to that boy only, do you understand?" he then said, ending the unspoken communication with a verbal statement.

Izumi honestly had no clue what he meant, "What could we be other than friends, father?"

Fugaku's shoulders sagged as he realized what he had gotten himself into. Not in the mood to explain the concept of puberty and romantic relationships at the moment (and to be honest, he probably never would be), he decided not to expand upon what he had said.

"You will understand when you are older. But for now, just do as I say. I'll ask again, do you understand?"

Izumi nodded, knowing that there was no other alternative when given a command from her father. Nevertheless, a part of her was still curious about what he meant, but she decided to simply forget about it. Her father deemed it unnecessary to tell her, so she would just do as he said. Still, she wasn't finished speaking.

"What do you think of Naruto, father? Do you resent him?" she asked.

Her father looked down at her sternly, "What has gotten into you today, child?" he asked, apparently not a fan of being asked so many questions.

"I am merely curious, father."

Fugaku fixed his stern gaze on his daughter for a few moments longer before sighing, "Naruto living with us makes your mother happy," he explained.

Izumi opened her mouth to speak again, but a look from her father told her that he would be receiving no more questions today. Deciding that she had been pushing her luck as it was, she closed her mouth and remained silent as they made their trek back home.

* * *

(That Evening)

Naruto and Izumi had just returned from the Academy. For the most part, they hadn't spoken to each other all day, which wasn't unusual. Naruto was probably even less talkative than her father, and with her being who she was, there wasn't much conversation to be had. Still, she relished this time together with him. He was her best friend, her most precious person.

As she reached for the sliding doors of their home, she looked at Naruto with a knowing smile, "Are you ready?" she asked.

Naruto simply nodded, and the two entered through the sliding door and into the mudroom (a small room or entryway where footwear and outerwear can be removed before entering a house). As soon as they removed their sandals, they heard the padding of tiny feet on the wooden floors and knew they were about to be bombarded.

"Big brother!" two babyish voices shouted at once, and Naruto sighed as he realized he was the victim of the day.

The first little blur slammed into his legs, and he looked down to see Sasuke gazing up at him with a mixture of love and excitement. Then, the second one attacked. Somehow, his little sister, Mito, became airborne, and latched onto his face like an annoying little tick. His little sister then began tugging on his hair as if it were a toy.

Izumi merely watched in amusement as Naruto was showered with all the love and affection that was humanly possible. Despite it all, he remained stone-faced, which only made the scene even more hilarious. He was like a statue with two little children climbing all over him. It was...amusing, to say the least.

"Izumi, get them off."

Izumi hummed, "I don't know, Naruto, I don't think that's what they'd want. Right?"

Mito looked at Izumi with a toothy grin, "Not what we want! Not what we want!" she chanted before planting a wet kiss on her elder brother's cheek.

Sasuke remained standing on the floor, near Naruto's legs, and looked back toward Izumi. He frowned at her and wrapped his little arms around Naruto's leg possessively. Izumi could only sigh in amusement. Sasuke had always been incredibly possessive of his 'big brother' Naruto.

It was actually very odd. Despite Sasuke being Izumi's biological sister, Naruto seemed to be his favorite elder sibling. The opposite was true as well, with Mito favoring Izumi a bit more. Izumi herself couldn't complain though, as she knew that the two children were merely attached to sibling figures that were the same gender as them.

Mito then looked toward Izumi and leaped from Naruto's face toward her. She was caught deftly in her elder sister's arms, and she buried her little face in his sister's chest. Naruto seemed to be relieved to have been removed of the little pest, but was forced to look down when he felt a tugging on his pants. He then saw Sasuke extending his hands, evidently desiring to be held.

Naruto sighed before reaching down and taking the little boy in his arms. Sasuke smiled up at him lovingly, and Naruto remembered what Mikoto had told him earlier in the day. Sasuke indeed considered him to be his elder brother?

Sasuke then looked toward Izumi and Mito and scowled, "Girls are annoying, big brother," he said in a pouty voice.

Naruto followed his brother's gaze and could barely make out Izumi telling Mito some kind of story, with the latter of the two laughing like an evil little goblin. God, she was a weird kid...

"That may be so, but it will one day be your job to protect those two, Sasuke," Naruto said, earning a look of confusion from his brother. "It is your duty as a man."

"D-Duty?"

Naruto frowned, realizing Sasuke wasn't at the point at which he could understand such things. This was one of the reasons he didn't like infant children. They were no more intelligent than dogs.

"You will understand someday," Naruto explained.

"Okay, big brother! I'll be smart and strong like you!"

Naruto felt something tugging at his chest, and quickly realized that it was affection. No matter how much he concealed his emotions, it was undeniable that he cared for Sasuke...to the very same extent that he cared for his Mito. There was no denying it now...Lady Mikoto was right.

"Lady Mikoto will have prepared dinner for us by now," Naruto explained before hoisting Sasuke up and placing him on his shoulders, causing the child to giggle with glee.

"Let's go, little brother," he then said, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen in surprise.

His mouth opened and closed several times before muttering in awe, "Big brother just said..."

Izumi was unable to hear the rest, however, as Naruto carried Sasuke out of the mudroom and toward the kitchen where she had little doubt a meal would be waiting. After he they left she looked at where they had been standing with a small smile on her face. That was the first time Naruto had ever addressed Sasuke as a sibling. It was certainly a moment to remember.

"Big sis," Mito said, poking Izumi's cheek with her finger. "I'm hungry."

Izumi sighed, "You're always hungry, Mito," she responded.

"Feed me!"

She sighed once more. Mito really was a strange little girl, "Mother will feed you. I'll take you to her now."

"Yay!"

A night like all others.

* * *

Naruto stood in his room, alone, as sleep evaded him for yet another evening. The house was quiet, so he knew that everyone was fast asleep. He made sure not to make any movements that would perhaps wake anyone up, and just stared at himself in the mirror.

His mother had been right all those years ago when she said he had inherited his looks from his father. The spiky mop of blonde hair, the cerulean eyes, and the angular face made him nearly a copy of the Fourth Hokage. Only the strange, whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks made him appear any different.

He then, however, closed his eyes, only to open them once more to see a striking change. No longer were they like his father's baby blues...for they were now blood red, with two tomoe surrounding the pupils. They were the Sharingan, the legendary dojutsu of the Uchiha clan.

"The eyes that reflect the heart..." he mumbled to himself.

If one were to ask how he awakened such eyes without any Uchiha blood running through his veins, he'd be unable to answer. Not even Lord Fugaku, the very head of the clan, had any idea why he had awakened the precious dojutsu. Nevertheless, he decided to take him in after making the discovery, not wanting the Sharingan to exist outside of the clan's control if he could help it. Kakashi Hatake already possessed one of their eyes, so they did not need another such person.

'Father, mother,' he thought to himself, thinking back on the day they had died. He had been there, he had seen their bloodied bodies struggling so very much to stay alive as they cradled his infant sister.

" _Protect your sister, Naruto," was all his father managed to say before passing. "You are the Child of Prophecy...I know it."_

To what prophecy was he referring? Naruto had spent quite some time trying to figure it all out, but he was no closer to understanding now than he had been two years ago. It had become so evasive that he ended up forgoing his goal to discover the truth.

Suddenly, a felt a knocking on his door. He quickly deactivated his Sharingan and quietly walked over to see who it was. To his immense surprise, it wasn't Lady Mikoto or Izumi…

"Lord Fugaku?"

"Get dressed, boy."

The man was fully clothed himself, looking as if he were prepared for duty. After giving his charge some time to get dressed, he gestured for Naruto to follow him before walking away. Not one to disobey, Naruto did as told and followed with confusion as he and his legal guardian exited the house into the darkened streets of Konoha.

They were empty, minus the occasional person out purchasing items after hours, so they made it to their destination without any real setbacks. To Naruto's surprise, they entered a training ground, one adjacent to a river. The moon reflected off of it to create a beautiful scene.

"Activate your eyes, boy."

It was then that Naruto realized Lord Fugaku's Sharingan was activated, shining a dull red in the darkness of the night. A fully matured Sharingan with three tomoe. Naruto then focused the chakra to his eyes and opened them to reveal his very own crimson-red Sharingan.

"Try to kill me."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Pardon, Lord Fugaku?"

The man's expression hardened, "If you are to possess the eyes of the clan, you will know how to use them in battle," he explained. "Now, do as I say. If you do not fight with the intent to kill, you will be wasting my time."

Almost before he could finish, he was forced to tilt his head to avoid being hit by multiple shuriken. He almost smirked at the boy's poise...absolutely no hesitation when given the order to fight.

Seeing his initial attack did not work, Naruto began weaving through hand signs. Fugaku quickly mimicked the signs using his Sharingan, and they both finished simultaneously, announcing their jutsu with perfect synchronization.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Two massive balls of flames, both equal in size were expelled from their mouths. The two jutsu then collided in an inferno inducing clash, canceling each other out with equal force. When the flames dissipated, Naruto was out of sight, but Fugaku's trained senses allowed him to step back before his ankles were grabbed by two hands that burst out of the ground.

"Earth Style? Impressive," he noted aloud before weaving through another set of hand seals.

His chest expanded with hot chakra before he released it all at once, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bombs."

This jutsu was superior to the standard 'fireball' and would incinerate the ground itself, forcing Naruto to escape above ground. Not even a second later, Naruto burst out of the ground several feet away from the blast radius and was then forced to duck after Fugaku attempted to take his head off with a brutal kick.

"Now taijutsu," the man remarked, before seemingly doing his very best to beat the boy to a pulp.

Certainly, he wasn't trying his best, but he was still surprised by the boy's prowess. His moves were refined. His blocks and dodges were perfectly timed, and not a single movement was wasted. He was beginning to experience first hand the pure genius of this child. Suddenly, the boy flipped over his head and just barely managed to pierce Fugaku through the back, hitting a vital point and drawing quite a bit of blood.

Despite seemingly mortally wounding his gracious host, Naruto appeared virtually unaffected, even with specks of blood littering his cheeks. He was unsurprised when he heard a voice speak up from behind him.

"So, your eyes can read through my genjutsu?"

Just as it was said, the 'Fugaku' he had just pierced dissipated into the air as if he had never been there in the first place, revealing it to have been an illusion.

"Yes, Lord Fugaku," Naruto answer before sheathing his kunai. He wasn't sure if his host had actually wanted him to answer the question, or if it was rhetorical, so he decided to answer anyway.

The man's posture was relaxed, which told Naruto that the fight was now over. Naruto then bowed graciously and waited for Fugaku-sama to give him further instructions.

"Your eyes are keen, boy," the older man remarked. "Not many in the clan can see through my genjutsu, yet you can."

"Thank you, Lord Fugaku."

"But you still have much to learn," Fugaku continued, not wanting to give the boy a big head. "You and I will continue to meet here every evening after dinner to hone your eyes. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded in understanding and turned to leave, assuming Fugaku-sama would do so as well; however, when he noticed he was not being followed he turned around to see his new teacher standing exactly where he had been.

"Is there something wrong, Lord Fugaku?" he asked.

The man remained silent for several moments, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. He was indeed a problematic person to maintain a conversation with, similar to Naruto ironically.

"Are you not curious why I brought you out here, boy? Why I've decided to teach you?"

Naruto's head tilted a bit in confusion. He thought that Lord Fugaku had brought him out to train his Sharingan. Was there really something more to it that he wasn't quite understanding? For all of his genius, even Naruto could not read a person's mind.

Fugaku sighed as he realized he would need to explain, "My family has paid you a great debt, boy," he explained. "My wife especially has gone far and beyond the call of duty when it has come to you."

"Of course, Lord Fugaku, and I am-"

"Let me finish," Fugaku interrupted harshly, shutting Naruto up instantly.

The idea had entered his mind later today, after having spoken with his daughter. It was obvious that the rest of his family was incredibly close to Naruto, with even Sasuke referring to him as a sibling. Funny enough, Sasuke's first words were Naruto's name.

"You are to exist to protect them," Fugaku continued. "Even if it means sacrificing your own life, you will protect Izumi and Sasuke. In doing so, you will have repaid the favor this family and the clan have gifted you. Is that acceptable?"

Naruto didn't hesitate, not even for a single moment.

"Of course it is, Lord Fugaku. I will protect them with my life."

* * *

 **~End~**


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Two~**

* * *

 **"Someone Precious To You"**

Yet another opponent fell, and rather quickly to boot. Izumi watched as Naruto won the most recent of the many Academy spars he had taken part in over the years. He had yet to lose any. Even though they had been allowed to skip several years of the academy, and were going up against students roughly five years older than them, Naruto and Izumi both still remained undefeated.

"And the winner is Naruto!" the instructor, much to the chagrin of the boys in the class. A seven-year-old continually defeating them hurt their egos quite a bit, Izumi assumed.

Izumi just didn't get it. She had long since realized that Naruto was stronger than her, and never felt as if she herself was inadequate. Because, unlike the rest of her peers, she was able to recognize just how talented Naruto actually was...People often called her a prodigy, but in her opinion, Naruto was the real prodigy of Konohagakure.

"Congratulations on yet another victory, Naruto," she said after he returned to her side.

Naruto shrugged, "It was nothing impressive. You would have trounced him as well."

His comments were heard by a couple of boys to there right, a group which included the very student he had just defeated. From what Izumi could remember, the boy's name was Tenma Izumo. He hailed from a relatively obscure clan, but still remained incredibly prideful of his lineage. Predictably, he did not take Naruto's words well.

"What was that you said, brat?" he asked as he and his friends came forward.

Naruto himself merely gave the group of bullies a glance and said, "My apologies, I didn't mean to offend you."

Tenma clenched his teeth in irritation. He hated Naruto and Izumi both, but Naruto especially. Why were they allowed to skip grades? Why would they be allowed to graduate early? And most of all, why was he unable to defeat them despite his best efforts? It wasn't fair in his opinion.

"You know what? I'm not some nobody. I'm a member of the Izumo clan. We may not be as powerful as the Uchiha, but we're not weak!" Tenma growled.

"I was unaware your clan existed, Tenma. That is interesting. Please tell me about them."

Izumi knew that this was Naruto trying to be nice, but on the outside, it honestly did seem as if he was making a subtle jab toward the obscurity of Tenma's clan. Naruto's lack of experience with socializing would sometimes bite him in the butt, leading to awkward conversations and situations.

As she guessed, Tenma only became angrier, and gripped the front of Naruto's shirt tightly, pulling the younger boy toward him. The lack of fear on Naruto's face just seemed to frustrate Tenma even more, and he clenched even harder, nearly lifting the seven-year-old Uzumaki off the ground.

"Never took you for a guy who had jokes, Uzumaki," he growled. "How about we teach you what happens to jokesters?"

"T-Tenma, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, though for whatever reason his voice sounded very different.

His eye widened, and he released his chakra just as they were taught by the instructors to do. Upon doing so, the 'Naruto' he had been gripping by the shirt faded away, revealing it to actually be one of his friends. Arching his head to look forward, he saw Naruto and Izumi standing there as if nothing had happened.

"Genjutsu," he growled. "You Uchiha brats and your damn genjutsu."

Izumi, the perpetrator of the genjutsu, remained silent. Naruto, on the other hand, looked at her with an appraising glance, apparently impressed by her jutsu.

"Did Lord Fugaku teach you that?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No. I learned it on my own."

Tenma became enraged once more, and appeared as if he were about to unleash his fury before the class was interrupted by their instructor. The man waited until he had everyone's undivided attention before he decided to speak. His voice was incredibly deep, and practically boomed throughout the entire training area.

"We have a new student joining our class today! Please treat him with kindness and make him feel welcome!"

It was then everyone noticed the young boy standing at his side. He was dressed in a formal white kimono, with pale skin, shaggy white hair, and attractive facial features; however, what was most notable were his eyes. They were pale, with a hint of lavender, making it almost seem as if he were blind. It was the Byakugan, the signature eye of the Hyuga clan.

"This is Toneri. He had been granted the opportunity to skip up to our class. I'd like for all of you to do your best to help him get caught up to the current curriculum...Remember, as future Konoha shinobi, you must learn to care for and assist your comrades. Do you understand?" the instructor.

"Yes, sensei," everyone said in unison, clearly not enthused at all.

Naruto, however, was curious about the boy in front of him, and subtly activated his Sharingan, an action only noticed by Izumi, who raised a brow at the display. Naruto rarely took an interest in others, so to see him going as far as to activate his Sharingan meant that he saw something that intrigued him.

"What do you see, Naruto?"

His response took a few moments to come out, "His chakra...it is strong...and strange as well," was all he said before his eyes returned to their cerulean blue color.

Izumi looked away from the new student, shifting her attention entirely to Naruto, "How so?" she asked.

"I can't explain," Naruto revealed. "All I can say is that it is very potent."

Izumi was beginning to get intrigued as well, "Like yours?" she said.

Naruto nodded, "It is close."

This boy had chakra that rivaled Naruto's? That was something Izumi thought that she would never hear. The son of the Fourth Hokage had massive reserves, rarely ever tiring or running low on chakra. She was aware that it was a trait of the Uzumaki clan, but also noted that Naruto's chakra was particularly powerful, even by their standards.

"Geez, another little brat is joining our class?" Tenma complained. He figured this kid would be unreasonably strong as well.

Oddly enough, the new kid, Toneri as he was called, ignored all others and headed straight for Naruto. It was like he was being attracted by some kind of invisible force, weaving through everyone else until he was face-to-face with the number one student in the class.

"You must be Naruto," he greeted, his voice calm. "The honorable son of the Fourth Hokage and ward of the Uchiha clan..."

Then veins became visible around Toneri's eyes and temples, a sign that he had activated his Byakugan. He seemed to scan over Naruto's body, similarly to how Naruto had done to him earlier. However, the Byakugan was unique in the sense that it could literally see into a person's chakra coils. Therefore, Toneri was quite literally looking into and through Naruto.

"...and your chakra is amazing, as expected," Toneri finished, deactivating his eyes. "I hope that my chakra impressed you as well when you took your little peek, Naruto."

So he noticed Naruto observing him earlier? That was admittedly pretty impressive, demonstrating that Toneri was at the very least an incredibly preceptive individual. Izumi, however, assumed that there was far more to this boy than just an intelligent mind.

"You are a Hyuga?" Naruto asked, not commenting on Toneri's previous statement.

Toneri smiled and shook his head, "I am as much of a Hyuga as you are an Uchiha, Naruto. Quite like yourself, I am simply a guest to the clan."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "You seem to know quite a bit about me."

The tension was beginning to get a bit high, mostly due to Naruto's reclusive nature. He didn't like people knowing a lot about him, especially strangers. This Toneri fellow was demonstrating knowledge regarding information that he shouldn't know at all.

Toneri's smile remained, "I apologize, you are someone who interests me, so I decided to be thorough when asking about you," he confessed.

His answer was good enough to satisfy Naruto's curiosity, so there was no more conversation to be had. Oddly, enough, Toneri remained at his side as they watched the remaining Academy spars. Izumi absentmindedly noticed that Toneri was paying absolutely no attention to the matches, choosing to openly stare at Naruto. Then, it was announced that it was his turn to fight, a surprise as it was his first day.

Izumi was curious about his style, and watched as he stood across from a much taller boy at the center of the sparring circle. As soon as she saw the look on his face, the small smile and the air of calmness, she knew that he was most definitely going to win.

"Begin!" the instructor ordered, bringing his hand down to signal the beginning of the match.

It happened quickly, the larger boy lunged forward, faster than most in the class would be able to. But Toneri weaved past the punch and delivered a palm strike into his opponent's abdomen, sending him staggering back. The boy clenched his stomach in pain, having apparently suffered internal injuries due to the attack. The match was clearly over.

However, Toneri didn't seem to agree, and blurred forward in an impressive showing of speed to give the finishing blow...a second strike which would undoubtedly leave long-lasting damage. The Academy instructors panicked, but were unable to move quickly enough to stop it in time. If left unable to defend himself, this boy would be hospitalized.

Izumi felt a slight shift in the air next to her and smiled as she realized things would be okay. Right before Toneri could hit his opponent again, a hand quickly gripped his wrist in a vice. The grip was indeed tight enough to cause pain, but he didn't seem affected, deciding it more important to smile at the person who had stopped him.

"You are very fast, Naruto," he complimented, looking into the blonde's intimidating Sharingan eyes...which were quickly deactivated before anyone else could see.

"The spar was over," Naruto lectured calmly before releasing Toneri's wrist.

Toneri's head tilted like a confused puppy, "I don't understand. A fight is not over until your opponent is dead...or incapacitated to the point where they cannot continue. That is how it is explained in the shinobi handbook."

Naruto crossed his arms, his mouth contorted into a severe line, as usual, "That was not a fight, it was a spar between comrades."

The head instructor then decided that it was a good time to get involved, "Well said, Naruto," he said in approval, before switching his attention to Toneri. "And you, young man, will be coming with me to meet with the Headmaster after class. You must learn how things work here at the Academy. This is not like your training with the Hyuga."

"I understand, please forgive me," Toneri requested with a bow.

The instructor sighed, clearly stressed out about the incident report he would have to submit about this. Deciding that doing such work would only serve to irritate him and keep him here longer than he needed to be, he decided that a warning was enough, that a trip to the Headmaster actually wasn't necessary.

He sighed, "Fine, just don't let this happen again."

Toneri nodded in understanding before looking toward Naruto with a smile, "Thank you, Naruto," he said. "You saved me from a lot of trouble.

Naruto quietly walked away back toward Izumi, and the two prepared to return home after class was dismissed for the day. Though as they left, Izumi noticed Toneri watched them intently in the corner of her eye.

* * *

"Come now, and stop babbling like a fool," Naruto lectured as he and Sasuke were walking through the streets of Konoha.

Sasuke was gripping his younger brother's hand with his own tiny appendage but was having trouble keeping up due to his stubby legs. Eventually, he became frustrated and began pouting and complaining as all children did, much to Naruto's irritation.

Mikoto-sama had lamented that he spend more quality time with Sasuke, so he was taking the young child to the river where he would teach him how to fish. As expected, Sasuke was excited as could be by the news, and practically bolted out of his room after being informed.

"Big brother!" he said, continuing to complain. "My legs are tired!"

Naruto stopped and sighed before placing the two fishing poles and the tackle box on the ground. He then crouched down so Sasuke could climb atop his shoulders. The boy climbed up with glee, and after making sure he was secure, Naruto picked the equipment back up and rose to his feet.

"Grab my head tightly and don't allow yourself to fall."

He could feel the bottom of Sasuke's chin tap against the top of his head as the boy nodded in understanding. He could feel the corners of his mouth curling up a bit despite himself. Now that it was just the two of them, Naruto felt his affection for his new little brother reach new heights.

The brothers continued on in relative silence, watching as the crowds of villagers passed them by, with many stopping to bow to Naruto as they did so, utter words of praise and thanks. Sasuke could only watch in extreme confusion as these strangers he had never before met acted so familiar with his big brother.

"Big brother, do you know them?" he asked, feeling possessive. He didn't know that his big brother was so famous.

"No."

Sasuke tilted his head to look down at his big brother's face,"Then why do they act like they know you?"

Naruto frowned a bit as he had to explain, "Because they are sycophants."

"Is being a sy-cho-phant the same as being friendly?"

"No, Sasuke," Naruto responded tersely. "It is not."

Even Sasuke, as young as he was, could tell that his big brother didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he held his tongue. His brother always had a way of answering questions in a way that made things even more confusing. Sasuke even asked his mother once why that was, and all she said was, 'Your big brother is a smart boy' and continued on making dinner.

Deciding he didn't like the silence, Sasuke spoke up again, "I'm going to catch a big fish, big brother!" he declared with a megawatt smile. "So big that it could feed the whole clan!"

Naruto looked up to see his little brother's happy face looking down at him and couldn't help but smile himself, "You have to learn how to catch fish first, Sasuke. After that, you can get to work feeding the clan."

"Yeah, but you'll be teaching me, big brother!" Sasuke responded. "You're the best at everything."

Naruto's smile persisted, "Actually, Izumi is much better at fishing than I am," he confessed.

Sasuke looked down, his expression aghast, "Nu-uh, big brother! You're lying!" he said, not believing it for a second.

Shaking his head in amusement, Naruto continued on until they finally reached the dock. When he stood before it, he could not help but be dragged into the past. He had been here many times during his childhood but hadn't returned since his parents died. This was the first time.

"We're here, Sasuke," he announced quietly before placing the equipment on the dock and lifting his brother off of his shoulders.

Opening the tackle box, he pulled out two fishing bobbers, a plain one for himself, and one designed to look like the Uchiha emblem for Sasuke. The two siblings then tossed their lines into the water, with Naruto doing the majority of Sasuke's work for him, and sat in silence as they waited for a bite.

"Why would a fish bite a hook, big brother?" Sasuke asked, ending the comfortable silence.

Naruto looked at Sasuke from the corner of his eye, "Because, Sasuke, the lures at the end of our lines attract the fish, and trick them into thinking that they are biting food."

"That's dumb, big brother. I wouldn't fall for that."

"I would hope that you wouldn't," Naruto continued with a slight smile. "Fish are not intelligent creatures, at least when compared to humans. They are easy to trick because of this."

His explanation seemed to be satisfactory, as Sasuke bounced his head up and town and turned back to watch his bobber floating on the water's surface. His big brother told him that when a fish bit on his hook, the bobber would be pulled underwater, and when it did, he would have to pull on his fishing rod and reel it in...whatever that meant. He was just going to pull on his fishing rod really hard.

Naruto waited calmly, watching both his and Sasuke's bobbers with his keen eyes. There was the possibility that Sasuke wouldn't be able to react fast enough to catch a fish since he was so young, so Naruto was ready to help as soon as he needed to.

"Hey, big brother. Who taught you how to fish?"

Naruto felt memories bombard his mind at the question, "My father taught me," he calmly explained.

Sasuke was a bit surprised, "Father taught you?" asked. "Then why isn't he the one teaching me?"

Naruto shook his head, "Your father and my father are not the same people, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, and his blood went cold at what he heard. How was that possible? How could his big brother have a different dad? That was impossible.

"T-Then, how are you my big brother?" Sasuke asked, scared of what the answer might be.

Naruto remained, calm, having known this day would eventually come, "You parents were kind and took me in when I had no home, Sasuke," he explained. "You and I are not related by blood."

"W-What about Mito?" Sasuke asked with a sniffle

This would be that part that hurt, "She is my sibling by birth, Sasuke. But it doesn't mean that I-"

"So you're not my real big brother then?!" Sasuke interrupted immaturely, standing up to his feet. "I bet you love Mito more!"

"Of course not, I-"

"NO!" Sasuke shouted, not wanting to hear any of it. "You're not my real big brother! You're a liar, and I hate you!"

He then threw his fishing rod into the river and ran off in the opposite direction toward their house. Naruto watched him go with a somber expression. This had definitely not been how he had expected today to go. He looked back toward the water and saw Sasuke's fishing rod floating at the surface.

The rod had belonged to him when he was a child, and was a gift from his father. He had intended to pass it on to Sasuke today, but it seemed that would now be a fruitless endeavor. Sighing, he made a cross-like hand seal, and in a puff of smoke, a perfect replica of himself appeared at his side. It was a solid clone, created through the use of the Shadow Clone jutsu.

He then turned toward his clone and spoke calmly, "Follow him from a distance and make sure he gets home safely."

The clone nodded before leaping up and landing on the nearby rooftops, which he would use to follow Sasuke while remaining unseen. Once that was taken care of, Naruto focused chakra to the soles of his feet and began walking on the water's surface to retrieve the fishing rod.

Once he reached it, he took it in his hands and looked at it with a sad smile. So many happy memories were created with this very fishing rod, and he had hoped that he could use it to create even more with Sasuke. This was truly a saddening day.

He then saw his reflection on the surface of the water and was reminded of something.

 _(Three Years Ago)_

" _Don't fall behind, Naruto," Minato warned with a smile as they made their way toward the dock. "The fish will all swim away before we get there."_

 _Naruto hurried forward to reach his father's side, "Sorry, father," he said._

 _Suddenly, his father grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up so that he could sit on top of his shoulders. Naruto looked around and noticed everyone in the village was looking at him and smiling. Everyone loved the Hokage and his son, and found the entire scene to be incredibly sweet. Naruto decided to ignore them, as usual._

 _An odd trait for a child, Naruto liked it when things were quiet. It allowed him to observe the vast and exciting world around him without any interruptions. There was so much for him to see, so much for him to learn, and quite honestly, the possibility of learning about it all was one of the few things that actually made him excited._

" _We're here, Naruto," Minato said before setting down the fishing rods and placing his son in the dock._

 _It took a few moments for his father to get everything set up, so Naruto settled for looking around the river. He saw many organisms coexisting in this beautiful ecosystem, and was fascinated. He then looked down at the water's surface and saw his reflection, watching as it copied his every expression and movement._

" _It's like a mirror, father," Naruto commented innocently before looking back up to see his father extending a child-sized fishing rod toward him._

" _It is beautiful, isn't it?" Minato responded before nodding toward the fishing rod. "Here, take it."_

 _Naruto thanked his father before gently grabbing the fishing rod in his hands. He looked over it and could tell that it was a bit old, definitely not something his father purchased recently._

" _My father gave this to me when I was your age, Naruto," Minato explained with a smile. "And now I'm giving it to you."_

 _Naruto's eyes widened, "It's that old?"_

 _Minato leaned his head back and laughed a bit before responded, "What are you saying?" he asked. "That your father is an old man?"_

 _Naruto nodded, "You're much older than me, father."_

 _Minato chuckled a bit more before sitting on the edge of the dock and gesturing for his son to do the same. They both then cast their lines and waited patiently to get a bite._

" _Naruto."_

" _Yes, father?"_

 _Minato looked at his boy with a somewhat severe expression, "Someday, when you're older, and when that fishing rod is too small for you, I want you to pass it on to someone that is precious to you so they can enjoy it too. Do you understand."_

 _Naruto nodded, "Yes, father. I understand."_

 _Satisfied, Minato ruffled his son's hair before looking back at the water, "Alrighty then, let's catch some fish so your mother can cook us some dinner."_

(Present)

Naruto remained standing on the water's surface, content to just stare at the gift his father had given him those years ago. Whenever he was reminded of his parents, he felt himself flooded with sadness. Memories which would have once been considered pleasant were now wrought with reminders of what he had lost.

Suddenly, he felt a familiar chakra signature appear behind him and looked over his shoulder to see who it was.

"So, you know how to walk on water already as well, Naruto?" Toneri asked with a smile, standing roughly five feet away from his new classmate.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, not at all in the mood to talk.

Toneri smiled, "I already told you that you are a person who interests me, Naruto."

"So you're following me around now?"

Toneri nodded, seemingly unashamed. Naruto was a bit surprised that it took until now for him to sense Toneri's presence, but chalked it up to the white-haired boy being able to suppress his chakra. It was yet another sign that this person was not normal, and he was quickly beginning to find himself on Naruto's radar.

"I saw what happened with your younger brother," Toneri commented, causing Naruto to tense up. "I was sorry to see that. I hope you guys can rekindle your relationship. Maybe-"

He was interrupted as he was forced to take a step back as Naruto was nearly instantly within an inch of his face, his Sharingan blazing with anger. He noted just how fast Naruto was to be able to get so close to him before he could blink, but then noted the glare he was receiving.

"Did I overstep my bounds, Naruto?" he asked with his signature smile.

"Stay away from Sasuke," Naruto warned. Sharingan eyes that would have intimidated almost anyone else seemed to peer directly into Toneri's soul.

Toneri put his hands up in a placating gesture, "I will Naruto, I assure you. It is only you that interests me. I did not mean to give you the wrong impression. I hope you can forgive me."

Naruto stared at Toneri, his expression calm and his eyes blazing with fury. He knew that a part of his anger stemmed from the loss of his bond with Sasuke, but a genuine piece of him was beginning to get sick of this Toneri fellow rather quickly.

"Stay away from me as well," he warned. His eyes then narrowed as the boy across from him chuckled.

"I cannot do that, Naruto," Toneri responded. "Can you not feel the connection between us? It is invisible, yet I can feel it so clearly."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This individual was proving to be more than just a bit odd. No, this was seeming more like a growing obsession. Naruto had no idea what 'connection' he was referring to, but if Toneri didn't back off, they were going to have problems. While he was never a fan of violence or fighting, if someone began following him while he was with his loved ones, he'd defend what was precious to him.

"Follow me again, and you will be met with more than just a warning," Naruto said. "Please do not make me need to take action against you."

And with that, in a swirl of leaves, he was gone. Toneri merely looked at where he was standing with a smile.

"Huh, so he can use the body flicker jutsu too?"

* * *

When Izumi arrived home, she certainly expected to be met with the presence of a small child. Her mother had taken Mito out to run errands, which left Sasuke alone to spend the afternoon with Naruto. She had expected them to have returned by now, considering how much time it had been but when she came home, Sasuke did not come to greet her as he usually did.

"Good, you're here now," a voice suddenly spoke up from the corner.

She turned and saw Naruto with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, though there was something weird about him. He felt like Naruto, yes, but he also seemed...incomplete.

"Are you a shadow clone?" Izumi asked, receiving a nod in response.

"I leave Sasuke to you now," the clone said before dispelling in a cloud of smoke.

Ah, so Naruto had left a shadow clone to watch over Sasuke in his absence? Naruto usually used shadow clones when he was too busy to do something himself, which meant that he was probably out doing something serious. Maybe he was training with her father again?

She walked out of the mudroom and entered the house. She half expected to see her little brother playing in the kitchen or the living room but was surprised to see that he was no there. Knowing there was only one other place that he could be, she softly walked toward his bedroom, expecting to see him playing with his toys.

What she found, however, was a three-year-old child who looked utterly depressed. The lights in his room were off, and he was laying face first in his pillow, which was muffling the clear sounds of crying.

"Sasuke?" she said, speaking softly so as not to startle him.

A muffled voice of a child responded, "Go away..."

Izumi sighed, realizing that she was going to have to console a child. Still, it pained her to see her little brother so upset, so she decided to try her best to help him.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" she asked. "Does this have something to do with your big brother?"

Sasuke's face shot up from his pillow, dripping with tears and contorted into a vicious glare, "He's NOT my big brother!" he growled, actually causing Izumi's eyes to widen. "He's a fake! And Mito's a fake!"

Everything made sense after that. So, Sasuke had finally discovered that Naruto and Mito didn't share any blood relation with their family? A part of her assumed that he knew, since two parents with black hair don't produce blonde and red-haired children. Though to be fair, this was a three-year-old she was dealing with.

"Did Naruto tell you?" she asked.

Sasuke stuffed his face back into his pillow and nodded. Why Naruto chose today of all days to reveal the truth, she would never know, but knowing him, it was something that he couldn't avoid. Either way, Sasuke had to learn sooner or later, so she supposed it was now or never.

She placed her hands on his shoulder until he finally looked toward her, "Naruto and Mito are the children of the Fourth Hokage," she explained, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen. "On the day Mito was born, their parents died, and he had nowhere else to live. Our mother was friend's with their mother, so she took them into our family."

"So it's true?" Sasuke mumbled to himself before crying once more. It was clear that a part of his was hoping it was a lie or a joke.

Izumi decided that it was time to bandage this emotional wound. Her mother would certainly be the person most suited for this task, no doubt, but she wasn't here, so Izumi figured Sasuke would need to settle for her instead. She thought long and hard before finally speaking.

"Naruto loves you, Sasuke," she explained softly. "And no matter what you say now, I know that you love him. You two are not related by blood, that is true; however, your bond is even greater than that. Siblings usually don't get to choose one another, but you two were granted that opportunity. That makes your love more special."

Sasuke sniffled again, "R-Really?"

Izumi nodded, "Really, and you know something, Sasuke? I think Naruto would be very happy if his little brother gave him a big hug when he came home. Do you think he'd like that?"

Her brother chuckled and wiped his eyes, "Yeah! I bet he thinks about my hugs all day long! He tries to act all cool, but I know he likes them!"

His quick shift in emotion made her smile. Children were so complicated, yet at the same time, so simple.

"Well, there you go," Izumi said before standing up. "Now, let's get you cleaned up before everyone returns home."

They prepared to go to the bathroom, but were interrupted by the sound of the sliding doors of the mudroom opening. Sasuke looked up toward his big sister as if asking her permission, and she nodded. Immediately after, Sasuke darted into the mudroom to see Naruto removing his sandals, his expression the same as always.

"Big brother!" he shouted, surprising Naruto before running forward and hugging his legs.

"I'm sorry that I threw your fishing rod, big brother!" Sasuke said, burying his face into Naruto's leg out of shame. "And I'm sorry I was mean to you."

Initially, he received no response but then felt a familiar hand place itself atop his head before ruffling his hair. Sasuke looked up to see his big brother looking down at him with a smile. His eyes then widened in surprise when he was handed the same fishing rod from earlier.

"My father gave this to me when I was your age, Sasuke," Naruto explained, unknowingly mimicking his father's very words to him from years ago. "And now I'm giving it to you."

"To me?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes.

Naruto nodded before he remembered what his father told him, "Just promise me something, Sasuke."

Sasuke's head bobbed up and down, eager to please, "Of course, big brother! Anything!"

"One day, when you grow too big for this, I want you to give it to someone that is precious to you. Do you understand, Sasuke?"

"Like who?"

Naruto smiled once more, for what felt like the hundredth time today, "That's for you to decide," he said before standing up and ruffling Sasuke's hair once more. "Now come with me to the kitchen. You haven't eaten your lunch yet today."

Sasuke's stomach growled, and he giggled before nodding and following his big brother to the kitchen, "Okay, big brother."

Izumi watched the whole thing with a smile.

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading. This chapter was mostly focused on character building. As a writer, it is my job to actually make you guys care for and empathize with the people in the story. If I don't do that, nothing that happens to them in the story will impact you, the readers. Even if you don't like a character, I want you to at least be able to understand them.**

 **This story will have action, fights, etc. Things will pick up very soon as well, but at the moment, I have characters to introduce to you guys. I know some of you may prefer for things to get crazy and action-packed immediately, but I'd much rather take it slow and do it right, than rush and make mistakes.**

 **Thank you all again for reading. PM me if you have any questions.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Three~**

* * *

 **"Red Hot-Blooded Habanero"**

Naruto leaped back, just in time to dodge a barrage of shuriken that would have left him dead or hospitalized. He landed at the center of a small clearing, his Sharingan active and alert so he could keep track of his opponents. He waited patiently, wondering when they would make their next move.

His eyes widened slightly when a massive mallet, made entirely of red, glowing, malleable chakra appeared above him, and quickly slammed down with incredible speed and force. The impact of the attack created tremors throughout the nearby landscape, and left much of the ground crushed and demolished, sending dirt and rock flying into the air.

The chakra hammer then faded, and revealed an empty crater, containing only a single, destroyed log. For a moment, nothing happened, then, two figures jumped from the trees and landed deftly at the center of the crater. One was a young Inuzuka girl, not much older than Naruto, if at all, with brown hair, red fang tattoos and her cheeks, and slightly larger than average canine teeth.

She sniffed the air a few times before looking toward her partner, who just so happened to be a familiar face, "He's gone. I can't smell him anywhere."

Toneri smiled, "Naruto is using genjutsu to fool our senses," he explained. "Do not worry though, Hana, my Byakugan can break through the illusion and find where he is hiding."

After focusing chakra into his eyes, his dojutsu activated and he was able to see with x-ray vision, a 360-degree vision that could expand for miles. Nothing escaped his gaze, which was why it came as no surprise when he saw their opponent hiding away in the distance.

"He is a mile away, to the north," Toneri stated, earning a nod from Hana.

They jumped forward, weaving through the surrounding woods with ease. Raised in the Land of Fire, they were both as comfortable in the trees as they were on the ground, so travel through thick forests more like second nature than anything else.

As they got closer to Naruto's location though, Toneri noticed something approaching them at breakneck speeds.

"Hana, go to the right," he advised before dodging to the left. It was a good thing that they did too, because immediately after, a massive fireball flew by them, and would have hit them dead on had they not reacted on time.

They heard the explosion created by the impact of the fireball in the distance behind them, but continued pressing forward, ignoring the plume of smoke looming in their rear view. Predictably, that only seemed to be stage one, as they were then forced to show off their reflexes by dodging a multitude of small, much faster fireballs.

"J-Jeez, Naruto sure likes using fire. Shit!" Hana commented as a ball of flames zipped right by her head.

Eventually, the barrage ceased, but only for a moment, as Toneri noticed something with his visual prowess that actually made his eyes widen.

"Get behind me," he warned before extending his hands out in front of him. Many dragon-headed balls of flames came homing in toward them, stronger than the previous attacks and much too fast to dodge.

Just in the nick of time, a red chakra shield appeared in front Toneri and defended the two newly made genin from the inferno that would have surely killed them, leaving only ashes behind. Hana stood behind her new teammate, in awe of what she had witnessed. Her two teammates were so much stronger than she was.

"Toneri, you-"

The rest didn't come out though, as a dark silhouette of a figure appeared before her in the blink of an eye. All she saw were two haunting red eyes, each with two tomoe surrounding the pupils, and found herself collapsing to the ground despite her best efforts to stay standing.

'G-Genjutsu?' she thought to herself before unconsciousness overtook her.

Silence reigned as Toneri turned around to see Naruto standing over the unconscious body of Hana. Most would be upset, or even angry to see their comrade in such a state, but Toneri simply smiled. Naruto then turned around as well, and the two boys were face-to-face, their newly minted Konoha headbands glinting in the rays of sunlight.

"I'm glad that it is now just you and me, Naruto," he confessed. "I've been thinking of this moment for quite a while now."

The two stood in silence for a few more seconds, before darting toward each other in blurs of speed. Punches, kicks, palm strikes, anything you could think of were thrown, each for the sole purpose of ending the fight then and there. Toneri's fighting style, the Gentle Fist, could finish the bout with even a single touch, so Naruto decided that taijutsu would be an unnecessary risk.

"Enough," he said, jumping back, his hands blurring through seals faster than the naked eye could track. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb."

Immediately after, a muddy dragon head appeared from the ground, propelling dense chunks of large rock toward Toneri. Before they could reach through, Naruto expelled a torrent of flames from his mouth, engulfing his Earth Style attack and making it stronger. It was rare for someone to be skilled enough to combine two nature elements together for an attack, but Toneri was here seeing it now. He smiled, realizing that Naruto was just as special as his instincts had told him he was.

At that moment, Toneri decided to demonstrate his talent for ninjutsu as well.

"Hiding in the Surface Jutsu," he muttered before sinking and melding into the ground, and just in time as the balls of flaming earth flew right overhead.

Naruto's Sharingan eyes narrowed as he watched Toneri disappear into the ground with no trace. Unlike his opponent, his eyes were not capable of seeing through surfaces, so he could only wait patiently before he would undoubtedly be attacked.

It was so quiet now. He could hear the sounds of crickets in the distance, and the occasional animal rummaging throughout the brush. The wait dragged on far longer than he had predicted it would have, and he was beginning to wonder if Toneri actually used the jutsu to flee the fight.

"I'm here, Naruto," a voice behind him said. He turned around to see Toneri standing behind him with a smile.

"And here as well," a second voice said to Naruto's right, where another Toneri was standing.

Dozens of more clones rose up from the ground, surrounding Naruto. His crimson eyes darted over all of them, trying to see if the real Toneri was among them, or still hiding within the ground. It didn't take long to realize that they were all clones, and as soon as he did, they struck.

He backed out of the way of a palm strike that nearly hit the side of his head, and then swiveled around to grab the arm of a clone who attempted to attack him from behind. He then slammed the clone that he was holding into another one before delivering a kick to the chest of a clone that attempted to grab him from behind, and watched as it collapsed into mud.

'Earth style clones. One hit is all it takes,' he observed before being forced to react again to various other attacks.

Four attacked at once, leaping high into the air and toward their target. Naruto reacted quickly, and countered by unleashing a barrage of shuriken with pinpoint accuracy, piercing each of the clones in vital areas. After doing so, he checked throughout the area and noted that there were still many clones remaining. This time, they all charged in together.

Even amidst the sea of clones, he appeared untouchable. Evading attacks with grace and ease, while also dishing out damage to any that attempted to get through his guard. It was a beautiful display to anyone who might be watching, involving a perfect demonstration of taijutsu, made even more impressive by the Sharingan.

Now with a kunai in his right hand, he decapitated a Toneri clone before throwing the very same kunai into the chest of a clone that attempted to move on him from behind. The clone was hit head-on, and staggered back, knocking into several others. Naruto then made a seal with his right hand, and a paper bomb wrapped around the handle of the kunai he had just thrown began to sizzle ominously.

Continuing to fight, he ignored the explosion he felt behind him, one that destroyed many of the clones in the process. Deciding taijutsu was waisting physical stamina, he leaped away from the clones before engulfing them all in flames with another fire style jutsu.

The smoke from his jutsu faded, revealing that there were now no more clones remaining in the area. All in all, the battle had taken a little over three minutes, and Naruto once again found himself in a position of waiting. Deciding that waiting for Toneri to strike first again was a miserable idea, he slammed his hands onto the ground and decided to use his most powerful Earth Style jutsu, one that would surely bring his opponent back into the light of day.

"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld."

The area before him was quickly converted into a massive, chakra adhesive swamp that could be used to trap people inside. This was a jutsu his father had taught him, and it felt good actually being able to use it in battle. If his opponent was more comfortable hiding underground, then he'd allow him to stay there. Yes, he was aware that it was very ironic.

Eventually, once his jutsu was complete, he could see that Toneri had been trapped, as planned, with only his head sticking out of the swamp. Naruto channeled chakra into his feet and walked through the swamp and crouched in front of his new prisoner, placing a kunai against his neck.

"Yield."

Despite his circumstances, Toneri's smile remained, "Very well, Naruto. I yield."

As soon as he said it, the swamp disappeared, releasing Toneri and allowing him to regain his freedom of movement. He seemed grateful, but Naruto remained on guard, not knowing if his new teammate would accept that the fight was over. Some would concede a battle only so they could perform a sneak attack.

Suddenly, Naruto felt another chakra slowly approaching them, and it was clear Toneri did as well, as they both turned to face the new presence. It was an elderly man seemingly with one arm, walking with a cane. He had shaggy black hair, a bandaged right eye, as well as an x shaped scar on his chin.

"It seems that the two of you failed to defeat your opponent," he said, his voice lacking any real emotion.

Toneri smiled, "Naruto is powerful, Danzo-sensei. That's why you made it two against one, right?"

His response seemed to please Danzo a little. At least even in defeat, Toneri still remained perceptive and intelligent, both of which were valuable traits for shinobi to have. Furthermore, the fight had really been a one-on-one bout anyway, considering the fact that Hana had been taken out so early.

"Yeah..." another voice spoke up, revealing Hana walking out from the trees holding her head in pain. "I definitely have a concussion after that."

Danzo turned to face her, "Girl, you must train your resistance to genjutsu. Your display was pitiful. You are weak as you are now."

Hana looked toward the ground and nodded in shame. This was one of the negatives of being on a team with Naruto and Toneri. They were way stronger than genin were supposed to be, and it was difficult for her to keep up. Everyone in her clan had referred to her as a prodigy for years, but now she knew what true prodigies were...and she was certainly not on their level.

She was about to apologize for her poor display, but was cut off by Naruto.

"Danzo-sensei, I find the way you treat your subordinates to be repulsive," Naruto bluntly stated, standing with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

His words didn't appear to effect Danzo in the slightest, who remained utterly stoic.

"Your feelings are irrelevant to me boy, nor do I care for your opinions regarding my methods," he responded calmly. "Regardless of what you think of me, you will follow orders and develop how I see fit. I am not here to be your friend."

Naruto shrugged, "Very well, sensei."

A month ago was the final exam, where everyone who passed became genin and were assigned to teams. Naruto, Toneri, and Hana were put on Team One, making them by far the youngest team in the class. Izumi had been paired with Tenma, and a girl named Shinko on Team Two, and they were apparently thriving with successful mission after successful mission.

Team One, on the other hand, hadn't done any missions yet, and were merely doing survival exercises in which they were brought to their limits. Danzo said that it was the best way to make them real shinobi, and noted that the missions genin frequently did were pathetic anyway.

"Leave, all of you," Danzo ordered. "We will convene here again tomorrow at dawn."

They didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

"Big brother!" Sasuke yelled as Naruto walked through the sliding doors.

"Hello, Sasuke," Naruto responded, ruffling his kid brother's hair after placing his backpack on the floor and removing his sandals.

Sasuke smiled with glee, "It's Mito's birthday today!" he announced with extended arms, as if Naruto wasn't already aware.

Naruto's thoughts became clouded, "I know, Sasuke."

This had always been a stressful day for him. He had to do his best to make his sister's birthdays enjoyable for her, all the while mourning the deaths of his parents. It was a heavy burden to bear, but in his eyes, it was his responsibility as Mito's brother to make this day special, despite his feelings.

"What are we going to do for her?" Sasuke asked, trying to sound serious, as if he were an adult.

Naruto chuckled, "She'll have her party this evening, where you will both enjoy all manner of tasty treats, no doubt," he explained, making his brother's mouth water.

"I'll be quick this time, so Mito can't eat all of the food herself!" Sasuke declared, as if it were a self-imposed mission.

Naruto deadpanned momentarily. His sister was like a little black hole when it came to food. She could, quite literally, eat all the food at the party if Mikoto-sama didn't stop her. Then, she would weep comically as she watched people eat the food that she viewed as hers.

"Be careful, little brother," Naruto warned with mock seriousness. "Mito has been known to bite people that threaten to take her food."

Sasuke nodded in understanding, with a severe look, "I know. One time she bit my ear and wouldn't let go."

Naruto sighed, believing Sasuke completely. Another presence then made themselves known, when Mikoto-sama peaked in the mudroom with a smile.

"Ah, Naruto, you've returned from your team training," she said with a smile, glad her son had returned.

Naruto nodded, "Yes. I hope you had a good day, mother."

She smiled. No matter how many times she heard it, the feeling of elation at hearing Naruto call her mother still remained. He still called her 'Mikoto-sama' while in public or when Fugaku was around, but still, the very fact that he called her mother at all meant a lot.

"I did, thank you," she responded. "It was busy, but fun. Your sister's party is all set up and ready to go."

(A Few Hours Later)

The rest of the evening leading up to the party went pretty smoothly, and the guests soon began funneling into the Uchiha compound. The party mostly consisted of other clan children, including those from the Hyuga, the Nara, the Yamanaka, the Akimichi, the Aburame and the Inuzuka.

Naruto stood at the side as he watched his sister playing tag with her friends, feeling a bit out of place in this environment. He found it a bit depressing that he was more comfortable in battle with a kunai in his hand than he was at his own sister's birthday. When he noticed Izumi approaching, he did his best to hide his discomfort.

"Mito seems to be enjoying herself," Izumi remarked after reaching his side.

Naruto nodded, "Yes," he said in agreement. "All that matters today is that she is happy."

Izumi looked at him in her peripheral vision and watched as he stared at his sister, who was enjoying herself as much as a child could on their birthday. She found his love for his little sister to be incredibly beautiful, as cute as anything could be. Nevertheless, she could not ignore his demeanor.

"What about you, Naruto? Are you happy?"

She earned a sharp look in response, but refused to waver under his gaze. She was smart enough to know when Naruto was sad or upset, no matter how adept he was at concealing his emotions from view. And based on what she had seen after minutes watching him, he was secretly miserable, and she had a good idea why.

"This day must be tough for you," she continued. "Just know, if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

"Noted," was all he said in response, effectively ending the conversation before it could really even begin.

It was always tricky to get Naruto to talk about his feelings, and October 10th was always when it was the most difficult. Every year, he'd spend his day with Mito, and then, in the evening, he'd disappear and not return until the following morning, acting as if nothing had happened. After a while, people eventually stopped asking where he had been.

After a while, it came time for the party games, and Izumi watched in amusement as Mito did her best to pin the tail on the donkey. Izumi, and basically everyone else, found it incredibly hilarious with the girl tried to pin the tail on Fugaku, much to his irritation.

Then, came the feast, which was the only word that could be used to describe the sheer amount of food her mother had amassed for Mito's party. Any type of meal a person could imagine was there, especially dessert, which included, cake, cupcakes, muffins, pastry, and much more.

Finally, came the main event of the evening, the gift-giving ceremony. Mito sat in a chair, receiving various presents from guests and family alike. Mikoto in particular, gave her a toy set and Izumi gave her some rubber kunai knives. The funniest gift was from Sasuke, who gave her a 'lifetime supply' of free hugs coupon (clearly Mikoto's idea), much to everyone's amusement.

Eventually, it became Naruto's turn. He hid his gift behind his back as he approached his little sister's seated position. Quite honestly, he was a bit excited to present this gift to his sister, since it was an item that had been very close to his heart for some time. His mother's hair clip.

 _(Years Ago)_

" _Mother," Naruto said as he watched his mom working in the kitchen._

 _She looked over her shoulder and smiled, all the while still cutting vegetables without even looking, "Yes, Naruto?"_

" _Why does father sometimes call you the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero?" he asked with a tilt of the head._

 _Kushina smiled as she recalled the memories of her childhood, and Naruto wished that he could visualize what she was thinking. His mother was a lovely woman, who doted on him since the day he was born. Though, at the same time, she could be a strict disciplinarian...unlike his father, who didn't have the stomach to yell at him._

" _Well, it's a long story, Naruto," she explained. "But in short, it's because I used to beat up the bullies at the Academy. After a while, they started to fear me, and began calling me the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, due to my red hair and my fiery temper."_

 _Naruto blinked twice. Now that was something he could believe. His mother was not the victim type, and definitely didn't need protecting or saving like some damsel in a fantasy story._

" _Why did they bully you?"_

 _His question only seemed to make his mother smile even more. She then stopped what she was doing and kneeled down on the floor to get to eye level with him. Then, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her hair. Naruto noted that it was very soft, but was still confused._

" _They bullied me because of my red hair, Naruto," she explained. "And because I was a foreigner."_

 _Naruto's eyes widened slightly, "They picked on you for that?" he asked, not believing that people could be so cruel. "But your hair is so pretty."_

 _His mother smiled at his words, and he found it to be the most beautiful expression he had ever seen._

(Present)

"What did you get me, big bro?! Huh, huh?!" Mito shouted in excitement, looking so much like their mother that it made Naruto's heart skip and wrench all at once.

Her hair...it was identical to their mother's in absolutely every way. Just as Naruto had inherited his looks from his father, so had Mito from their mother. Looking at her, he felt he was looking at childhood photos of his parents. Watching her practically bouncing in excitement reminded him of how his mother would get during her own birthdays.

Naruto kneeled down in front of her and presented the hair clip, "Here, for your hair," he explained before placing it in her tiny opened hands.

She didn't react immediately, but when she did, it was clear that she was disappointed. Everyone else had given her toys, sweets, etc. Standard gifts that children liked. But her brother, one of her favorite people, gave her a hair clip? She had plenty of those already!

"Mito," Mikoto interjected with a stern voice. "What do you say to your brother?"

The birthday girl sighed, her shoulders now sagged, "Thank you, big bro," she mumbled dejectedly.

Naruto hid his inner turmoil well, masking it with a small smile. He had been dreaming of the day when he'd be able to pass on his mother's hair clip to his sister for quite some time now, and certainly hadn't imagined it going this way. Now he felt horrible.

"Can we all play now, mommy?" Mito asked, wanting to move on and play with her friends.

Mikoto looked at Naruto with concern before turning to her daughter and giving a nod of approval. Not needing to be told twice, Mito ran off, followed by her friends who all began playing tag and red rover. Soon, everyone else spread out around the yard as well, with only Naruto having not moved from where he was standing, his eyes locked onto something that was lying on the grass.

Izumi looked at him, a bit confused, and walked toward him to see what was the matter. When she saw what he was looking at, it made complete sense. Before going off to spend time with her friends, Mito had dropped the hair clip onto the grass without any worry.

"Naruto..."

He stared at the hair clip with an expressionless face. He remembered the day when the hair clip had come into his position, when he retrieved it from his mother's corpse on the night of the Kyuubi attack. When he found his parents, bloodied and bleeding to death from gaping stab wounds in their stomachs, cradling his sister as if she was the most precious thing in the world, he supposed he instinctively took it off of her, as a way to keep her memory close to him.

Without a second glance or any words, he stepped over the hair clip and left the party. Izumi, who could not bring herself to chase him, leaned forward and gently picked the hair clip out of the grass. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Mito resting on the grass after having run her little heart out.

She approached the birthday girl, crouched in front of her, and before Mito could react, she felt a hair clip being placed in her hair, in the exact same style Kushina had worn it in the past. Having not expected it, Mito looked at Izumi in confusion.

"What did you do that for, big sis?"

Izumi merely smiled, "It looks good on you. You should wear it from now on."

Mito pouted, "But it's just a hair clip. I already have lots of those!"

Her crimson hair was then ruffled affectionately by her elder sister, "It would make your big brother really happy if you wore this. In the past, someone very precious to him used to wear it."

The birthday girl's eyes widened, "Is it really that special?" she asked.

"It is," Izumi responded. "One day, you'll learn just how special it is. But for now, just know that it's something your brother has cherished since the day you were born. He's dreamt of giving it to you for a while."

Mito lightly placed her hand on the accessory now holding her hair in place, realizing that its value was more than met the eye. She smiled, realizing that her brother must have put a lot of thought into giving this to her.

"I'll never stop wearing it!" she declared, making her sister smile.

Izumi just wished that Naruto could have been here to hear that.

* * *

It was now much later in the evening, and Naruto found himself at the place he snuck into every October 10th. The graveyard was completely empty now, with all those who had been mourning the deaths of the Kyuubi attack having long since left.

Kneeling before two graves, in particular, Naruto's face belayed nothing of what he was feeling inside. One of the tombstones, the one of the left, was decorated with many, many ceremonial offerings. It was his father's gravestone, and people often made offerings to it out of respect, in remembrance of him saving the village. Right next to it was his mother's gravestone, which was bare of any gifts or decorations. Despite doing as much to protect the village as her husband did, her role in subduing the Kyuubi was not public knowledge.

"Father, I have been doing what you asked of me," Naruto muttered, his quiet words feeling loud in empty expanse around him. "I've protected Mito, and will continue to do so for the remained of my days...I just...I just wish you could be here to see her. She is so much like mother."

After saying those words, he turned to his mother's stone and continued. "And mother, I've done as you told me as well. I've been eating well, I've been trying to get plenty of sleep, and I've followed the Three Shinobi Prohibitions. I've trained as hard as possible, always with you in mind. I haven't made many friends, but I suppose Izumi would count as one. And finally, I've tried to be happy like you asked...but it's hard."

Naruto's expression remained blank, but there were now tears streaming down his cheeks. His yearly vigil at his parent's grave had always been a trying experience for him, as it was the one time a year he allowed his sorrow to spill out. He then leaned forward, practically slamming his forehead into the dirt. His shoulders began to tremble as he was now wracked with sobs, unable to keep his composure any longer.

"Mother...Father," He muttered through tears and clenched teeth. "I'm not like you...I'm so weak."

A light rain then began to descend from the sky, before turning into a downpour. The water dripped and flowed over his bowing form, and the ground became muddy, dirtying his hair and clothes. Nevertheless, like always, he ignored the discomfort and continued on, refusing to move even an inch until morning.

At least the rain did a good job of masking his tears.

* * *

 **~End~**


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Four~**

* * *

 **"A Shadow Looming"**

The silence was beginning to make him nervous. Despite all his experience and poise, this was no ordinary mission. The moon seemed to be his only ally as he leaped across the rooftops, doing his very best to remain undetected. Despite his anxiety, his movements were perfectly timed, and his black cloak kept him completely undetectable.

Hidden inside of his cloak was a burlap sack, one he would stuff his target into before fleeing out of the village. The barrier surrounding the entire village would likely make doing so very difficult, but it was late, and if he were quick enough he would find a way to escape. He was elite, after all, and these kinds of missions were his specialty.

Eventually, he reached it, the compound. It was almost entirely segregated from the rest of the village, and was under constant guard by the military police force. Waiting for the coast to become clear, he scaled the walk, silent as a grave, and scanned the area once more before making it toward his destination.

Thankfully, as one would expect, the streets were completely empty, but nevertheless, he stayed on the rooftops, occasionally pulling on his hood to keep it covering his face. Under his cloak, he was clenching the burlap sack hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. He would be arriving very soon.

For a brief moment, he halted in place and looked toward the moon. Doing so always calmed his nerves during assignments such as these. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his nerves. One of his comrades had attempted a very similar mission in this very village not even five months ago, and was killed despite being one of the elite jonin of their village.

'It will be different this time,' he thought to himself with determination. 'His presence here was overt. Nobody knows that I am here. Everything will be fine.'

His thoughts were mostly to convince himself, and to an extent, they served their desired effect. Leaping through the air once more, he made it to a manor house located at the center of the compound. It was by far and away the largest building in the area, excluding of course the military police headquarters. He smiled as landed on the manor's rooftop.

"Let's see how you like this, you wealthy scumbags," he mumbled to himself insultingly before entering one of the windows.

The inner halls of the manor were quiet, unbearably so, but at least it meant that the occupants were all asleep. That would most definitely make things easier. Doing his best to remain silent, and doing an exemplary job at doing so, he finally arrived at the room he had told the target would be residing in.

Slowly, he turned the knob and thanked God that it opened without so much as a creak. He left the door open after he entered, knowing that closing it would create a noise that would be loud enough for a trained shinobi to hear. Stalking forward like a sneaky predator, he stopped before his target's bed, scanning the individual over and confirming that it was them.

Luckily for him, it was definitely her. Her crimson-red hair, fair skin, and oddly whiskered cheeks were the clear indicators. He had found her, one of the last remaining Uzumaki clan members and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Despite having reached a major juncture in his mission, he walked away from the bed and toward the only window located in the room.

He opened it without making a sound, doing so to make sure that he had an avenue of escape right after capturing the Jinchuuriki. Finally, after all measures were taken, he slipped the burlap sack from his cloak and approached the girl menacingly. Before trying anything, he placed one of his hands on her and using as little chakra as possible, placed the three-year-old girl under a genjutsu that would keep her asleep throughout all of this.

Finally, it was time. He opened the sack, being sure the opening was wide enough before attempting to put her inside. However, right as he was about to take her into his possession, he froze in fear as he felt a presence standing behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw a figure looming over him. Two Sharingan eyes gleamed in the dark.

"S-Shit," he stuttered before quickly darting to the window, making the decision that his life was more important than this death wish of a mission. Come on, trying to kidnap the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki from the most powerful of the Five Shinobi Nations, and from the clutches of the most powerful clan in the world, the Uchiha, as well? Lord Raikage was definitely trying to kill him.

Leaping through the compound, he muttered obscenities to himself as he contemplated the horrible things that would happen to him if he were to be captured. He had heard the rumors about Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, and knew that if he were taken into custody, vital information would be released. He knew about that man, Ibiki Morino, who was rumored to be able to get a person talking just by speaking to them, and there was also the Yamanaka, who could literally peer into his memories.

Suddenly, he was forced to shift through the air to avoid several shuriken that would have surely killed him had he not done so. He looked over to see that the very same Sharingan figure was in hot pursuit, having followed him during his escape. Damnit...he had hoped that the figure would have stayed behind to protect the Jinchuuriki.

"Fuck off, you creepy bastard," he mumbled to himself before going through a string of hand seals. "Lightning Style: False Darkness."

A spear of pure lighting was expelled from the man's mouth, blowing back and revealing his face and unintentionally revealing his affiliation. His skin was brown, his head was shaved; however, most notably, there was a Kumogakure headband adoring his head.

The jutsu was dodged though, much to his dismay, and the figure came speeding toward him faster than most could blink. As an infiltrator, he was not a combat oriented shinobi, since his chakra pools needed to be small enough for him to more easily suppress and hide his presence. Due to this fact, he decided that fleeing was a much better strategy than actually fighting a fucking Uchiha.

However, the figure suddenly appeared in front of him in a burst in speed, forcing him to halt his escape. So, it seemed that a fight would be inevitable, huh? Still a shinobi and not at all a coward, he drew a kunai from his holster and attacked the Sharingan bearer.

Predictably, his attack was avoided, and before he knew it, he found the strength leaving his body rapidly. He dropped his kunai to the ground and looked down with wide eyes to see blood spurting from his throat.

'Impossible! He slit my throat?! I didn't even see him move!' he thought to himself in horror, seeing the bloody kunai in his opponent's hand.

No longer having the strength to attack, his body collapsed, and he felt the life leaving him. The Sharingan bearer then kneeled over him, revealing him to be a young boy with blonde hair. The infiltrator nearly laughed. He had been done in by a kid. A fucking kid!

"Your trachea has been severed, so you won't be able to breathe. Your death will be unpleasant and drawn out," the kid explained calmly. "Would you like me to put you out of your misery? Nobody deserves a painful death."

He tried to speak, surprised that this boy was offering him a way out, but could not. Seeing the three whisker marks on the boy's cheeks, he was smart enough to realize that this was the Jinchuuriki's brother. He had tried to kidnap the boy's sister...shouldn't he want him to suffer for that?

The wound to his neck prevented any speech, and when he tried, he found himself choking on blood. Deciding that this was no way to die, he merely nodded his head before closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitable.

In an instant, everything went black as a kunai pierced through his heart. It was over.

* * *

"This is just like the Hyuga incident," Danzo remarked, as he and the two other members of the elder council sat before the Hokage. "Only this time, it was the Kyuubi they were after."

The Hokage, a kind looking old man with white and red robes and the conical Hokage hat adorning his head, removed his pipe from his mouth and blew out a small plume of smoke. He looked exhausted, no doubt by the incident that occurred the previous night.

"How is your student, Danzo?" he asked with a sigh. "Naruto was forced to kill a man last night."

A rare, yet still tiny, almost unnoticeable smile spread across Danzo's face, "He is not rattled in the slightest," he responded. "That boy is ruthless...a true shinobi."

The Hokage frowned. He was beginning to wonder if allowing Danzo to lead Naruto's genin team was a bad idea. Danzo was an old friend, an excellent shinobi, and a great cultivator of talent and skill...but there was a darkness about him. Would Minato approve of his son learning from such a man? He often found himself asking that question.

"Back to the issue at hand," another of the elders responded, a grey-haired, wrinkled woman, Koharu interjected. "This is not the first time Kumogakure has attempted this. Decades ago, they tried to capture the previous Jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Then, far more recently, it was the Hyuga heiress, and now the current Jinchuuriki. We can no longer take this sitting down, Hiruzen."

"Indeed," the third and final elder, a bespectacled man with grey hair and a beard, Homura, commented in agreement. "This may as well be a declaration of war on their part. As much as I hate the idea of yet another conflict, we are not presented with many options."

Hiruzen sat in silence, taking in another intake of smoke before lowering his pipe again. Shortly after, blew the smoke out of his mouth as he contemplated what the best course of action was. It was difficult to argue with his advisors. They had taken the avenue of peace with Kumogakure in the past, despite explicit acts of hostility, and it only led to their northern neighbors continuously taking advantage of their peace-loving ways.

"Today I've received a message from Kumogakure, sent via a messenger hawk," Hiruzen remarked. "They have demanded the body of Naruto Uzumaki as reparations for the death of their shinobi."

Koharu scoffed, "Just as they demanded the corpse of Hiashi Hyuga?" she asked with a cynical smile. "How audacious of them, to send shinobi to capture children from our village and demand the deaths of those who prevented that from happening."

"We should have never listened to their demands the first time," Danzo said. "Even if we did offer Hizashi Hyuga anyway, preventing the Byakugan from getting into their hands. You cannot make concessions with warmongers, Hiruzen. They must be met with devastating and well-organized force. Especially in this case, where unlike last time they have no political leverage. They are clearly in the wrong."

Hiruzen nearly laughed at the irony of Danzo calling another person a warmonger, but at the same time, he once again found himself unable to argue with what he was hearing. In the past, they had been forced to enter organized conflicts for much less.

"Danzo, beginning organizing our forces," he stated, earning a nod from his second in command. "Any and all active duty shinobi must be recruited. No doubt, once we refuse Kumo's request, we'll be forced to prepare for war."

Danzo stood from his seated position, "You are making the right decision, Hiruzen," he commented before exiting the room, his cane tapping on the ground with every step, followed by Homura and Koharu soon after.

Once alone, the Hokage was left to stew over the now growing conflict. It was times like there where he wished that Minato had never died. Were he still around, Kumo, or any village for that matter, wouldn't be foolish enough to act aggressively toward Konoha. He was that feared by his enemies.

He thought back on his two mentors and wondered what they would advise him to do. Tobirama-sensei would without a doubt agree that war was a bitter necessity in this case, but when it came to Lord Hashirama, Hiruzen had no idea what he would propose. Perhaps the most peace-loving man of his time, Hashirama Senju would do anything to keep his village out of war, but at the same time, he'd show no mercy to anyone who attempted to harm his home. He'd probably go to Kumo on his own to beat them into submission...and he was definitely strong enough to do that. He could defeat all the Five Kage by himself if he wanted to.

"I have not aged well," Hiruzen commented to himself with a sigh. "A younger Hokage will be needed someday soon."

There were no apparent candidates these days. Jiraiya and Tsunade would never accept it, Orochimaru had become a rogue shinobi, Kakashi was still young and mourning the death of his sensei and teammates, and the tension between the village and the Uchiha ruled out Fugaku as well. However, he noted another possible candidate and smiled. It would require him to wait a bit longer, but this particular shinobi would make the perfect Hokage someday.

"We'll see how you develop, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto walked in relative silence, his little sister latched onto his left arm, and his little brother perched on his shoulders. As they walked through the village, they received smiles and waves from everyone, mostly middle-aged and elderly women who thought that what they were seeing was cute.

"You're so strong, big bro!" Mito exclaimed, her new hair clip on full display. "You can carry me and Sasuke both!"

Before he could respond, Sasuke looked down at Mito and stuck out his tongue, "He can barely carry you, Mito, since you eat so much."

Naruto had to do his best to hold back his angry sister, at least until she calmed down. Similarly to his mother, she had a fiery temper and could be set off if someone said that wrong thing to her. Now that he thought about it, his little sister was unlike him in almost every way. While he was calm and reclusive, she was loud and extroverted. It wasn't like he was upset about this though...no, he'd never want his sister to become like him.

"Mito, Sasuke, behave yourselves, or I'll take you back home," he warned, which pretty much instantly did the trick.

"Sorry, big brother/big bro," they both said in unison.

Naruto shook his head before continuing onward. His team meeting had been canceled this morning since Danzo-sensei needed to attend a meeting with the Hokage, no doubt to discuss the attempted kidnapping of Mito. It would spark quite an international incident, of that he was sure. Naruto was dreading it already...but he didn't regret his actions, not even for a moment.

Mito, thankfully, still remained unaware of the incident, having slept through the whole thing. If Naruto had any say in the matter, he would make sure that she never knew, at least not until she was older. It was for the same reason that he was waiting until later in her life to talk to her about their parents.

"Where are we going, big bro?" Mito asked.

Naruto looked down toward her, "We're going to get lunch," he answered plainly, knowing the reaction it would elicit from her.

She trembled with absolute joy. Sasuke himself was excited as well, though to a far lesser degree. Anything involving food was a cause for celebration for Mito.

Eventually, after a few more minutes, they arrived at a destination that was only familiar to Naruto. It didn't look like much, to be honest, but for Naruto, it was yet another place the triggered an emotional response. As usual, he hid emotions with expertise and entered the small stand known as Ichiraku Ramen.

"Ramen? Is it good?" Mito asked after being placed on one of the stools. Naruto sighed, knowing his mother would kill him all the way from the afterlife if she found out he waited this long to take his sister to Ichiraku.

He nodded, "Yes, I came here often when I was your age."

Hearing voices outside, the owner of the establishment stepped out. He was a middle-aged man with greying black hair and squinted eyes. He wore the clothing of a ramen chef and when he saw Naruto he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"N-Naruto?" he asked in surprise before smiling. "It's been so long, my boy!"

Nodding in respect, Naruto responded, "It has been a while Mr. Teuchi. How is business?"

Sasuke and Mito watched in confusion as their big brother had a bit of a conversation with the ramen shop owner. Mito was beginning to get impatient waiting for her food, made worse by the fantastic smells that were permeating from the kitchen at the back.

"And who are these little ones? Have you brought me new customers, Naruto?" Teuchi asked, looking at Mito and Sasuke with a knowing smile. It was very obvious who Mito was.

"They are my siblings," Naruto explained simply before turning them. "Mito, Sasuke, say hello."

"Hello, sir/old man," they both said at the same time, with Mito's being predictably a bit less than respectful. Teuchi didn't seem to mind though.

He laughed uproariously, "She is just like Kushina," he said before turning around. "I'll have meals for you three in a matter of minutes."

As they waited for their food, Mito looked up toward Naruto with a tilt of the head, "Who's Kushina, big bro?" she asked. "Is she cool?"

Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye and was a bit emotionally overwhelmed for a few moments, but as usual, he hid it very well.

"She was very cool, Mito. I'll tell you all about her when you are a bit older."

Mito childishly shrugged her shoulders, her short attention span allowing her to quickly shift her focus to others things. It made Naruto wonder, was keeping their parents a secret from her a bad decision? Part of it was that talking about them had become incredibly painful...and he was too much of a coward to explain to his little sister that her real parents were dead. Would she resent him for withholding this information someday? Maybe.

They were soon served their food, and Mito's little purple eyes widened at the bounty displayed before her. Even Naruto couldn't help but find the miso ramen to be incredibly appetizing, and when he took a bite, it certainly took him back a ways.

"I've heard you're a chip off the old block, Naruto," Teuchi commented while cleaning his cooking equipment.

Naruto swallowed his food before blinking, "How so?" he asked.

Teuchi laughed, "Come now, my boy. No matter how humble you are, you can't ignore the fact that you're as talented as can be. Everyone talks about the unmatched prodigy Naruto Uzumaki. You're a source of pride for normal people like myself."

If Naruto were a lesser person, he might have blushed, but he wasn't, so he settled for nodding respectfully and giving his thanks. Teuchi was right, Naruto was a very humble person, never underestimating his opponents and never really acknowledging the idea that he was some once in a lifetime genius.

Mito turned toward Sasuke and whispered, "Is big bro really that awesome?"

Sasuke nodded, "Uh-huh," he said with noddles in his mouth. "Nobody can beat big brother. I bet he could even defeat father if he wanted to."

While that was definitely untrue at the moment, it wouldn't be all that long before Naruto was on the level of people like Fugaku. His Sharingan was maturing nicely, and every day he found his skill increasing drastically. Izumi was the same way. Naruto had little doubt that she would soon unlock her visual prowess and begin tapping into her insane potential. Even without the Sharingan, out of all his peers, Izumi was the one he respected the most, and it wasn't due to bias either.

"Whoa..." Mito said in awe, looking at her brother in a new light. She had always loved him, but now she learned that he was some kind of super shinobi badass.

"Your cooking is excellent as always, Mr. Teuchi," Naruto compliment after taking a quick break from his food.

He looked to his left to see his sister staring at him with wide eyes. She just as quickly, however, realized she had been caught looking, and focused her attention back to her ramen, practically devouring the entire bowl in a matter of seconds. Teuchi's squinted eyes widened slightly.

"Dear, God..." was all he said, making Naruto shake his head in amusement.

"You will become used to it," he explained before going back to his food. "Though I imagine she'll need another bowl. Right, Mito?"

The little redhead bobbed her head up and down, "Another bowl! Another bowl!"

Today was a good day.

* * *

Izumi focused her chakra into her chest before expelling it in the form of a massive ball of flames. Upon unleashing the jutsu, she hunched over, clearly exhausted. The best way for a shinobi to train their chakra reserves was to continuously push themselves to the brink. It was like lifting weights, putting stress on your muscles so they would heal and become stronger.

"That's the tenth fireball," a calm voice spoke up next to her. "You should rest for now."

She was practically panting now, and looked to see that Naruto was still seated at her side in a relaxed position. He was a great person to train with, never allowing her to do anything less than her best. They had sparred a bit for a few hours, nothing significant just light work really, and now they decided to address her greatest weakness.

Her chakra, like all Uchiha, was incredibly strong...but her reserves were rather small. She could perform high-level jutsu with ease, but didn't relish prolonged battles, which was why she favored genjutsu.

"There...There will be a war soon...Naruto," she said in between intakes of breath. "I'll need to be ready."

After doing so, she ran through the familiar string of hand seals and another fireball was expelled from her mouth. For a moment, she felt fine, but her eyes soon widened when she felt her entire body sapped entirely of stamina. Her legs gave way from under her, and she fell forward.

Surprisingly, rather than hitting the ground, she felt her body land atop what felt like someone's back. Naruto had moved in the blink of an eye to catch her, and she was incredibly grateful. He then took hold of her legs and stood up, carrying her in the piggyback position. She was exhausted that she didn't even speak, being more content to rest her head on his right shoulder as he carried her out of the training ground.

"This is unlike you, Izumi," Naruto commented as he carried her. "Normally, you are well aware of your limits."

Gathering any energy she had remaining, she spoke, "Yes, but now I am trying to break through my limits. To do so, I have to take risks."

There was silence for a few moments, and Izumi felt content in it. Perched atop her best friend's back, her eyes swiveled around the beautiful wilderness scenery. She had always loved the forest, which was why she never cared for using the village's designated training grounds, preferring to find a good old natural clearing in the woods.

"Just be careful, Izumi," Naruto spoke up again, surprising her. He looked as if he was about to say something else, but he closed his mouth and continued walking.

She smiled slightly. He seemed unable to finish what he was saying, but she knew what he meant. Naruto had never been good at expressing such thoughts, so the fact that he was even trying meant that he was worried for her. It made her happier then she could ever remember being. Naruto truly cared for her wellbeing. They would never be siblings, as they were both already too old when they were brought together to develop that kind of bond...but they were without a doubt best friends.

"I understand, Naruto," she interrupted, saving him from needing to finish. "Thank you."

Silence reigned once more, the kind in which one didn't want to interrupt a comfortable experience. The weather was a bit chilly in October, but Izumi could not help but note the warmth that practically radiated off of Naruto. It was as if his chakra was so potent that it actually increased his bodily temperature.

"You don't need to rush, Izumi," Naruto continued. "The war will not begin tomorrow. Both sides will wait months, years even before one decides to make the first move."

Izumi nodded into his shoulder, "I know. But who knows when they might send shinobi after Mito again? Or if they decide to seek retribution against you?"

"Don't worry about me, Izumi," Naruto assured. He was far too selfless to put his own wellbeing into consideration, so Izumi always had to worry about him in his place.

She closed her eyes, "I would be...sad if you were gone," she confessed. "I don't want you to die."

Naruto didn't respond, though his grip on her tightened a bit. There was no doubt that Naruto would be targeted throughout this entire international conflict with Kumo. They would likely wish to see him dead for multiple reasons. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage, he was a prodigy that could become too strong for them to handle in the future, and he also murdered one of their shinobi.

"It's okay to be a little selfish sometimes, Naruto," she pressed. "Please value your own life, and don't needlessly sacrifice yourself for us."

"If it is for you, then the sacrifice isn't needless," was all he said in response.

She had seen it many times in her worst nightmares. Naruto dying protecting her and the rest of the family. It seemed like something he would undoubtedly have no problem doing, and she just wished that he would put himself first sometimes. It often felt as if he was a servant to their family, instructed to make sure they were all safe and happy, even if it meant sacrificing his comfort.

He was too stubborn for his own good, she supposed. In her eyes, he would never change, no matter what anyone said to him. He would always be the same insightful, pacifistic, and selfless to a fault blonde haired prodigy which she had come to view as her most precious person.

And she supposed that was okay, so long as she made sure he didn't do anything stupid...like dying.

* * *

"Damnit!" the hulking brown-skinned man growled before slamming one of his massive hands into his desk, crushing it with brute force.

Being over six-foot-five-inches tall, and over two hundred twenty pounds in weight, the Raikage was an incredibly intimidating specimen. He had blonde, combed back hair and a small mustache and goatee. As for his attire, he wore a white haori with no shirt, as well as a golden belt around his waist, and golden vambraces on his wrists.

"Well, that didn't work out as planned," another brown-skinned man with a mop of white hair that covered a portion of his face. He spoke with an almost lazy casualness.

The Raikage glared at him, "No shit! We've failed for the third time. And now, we have to worry about some new up-and-coming Konoha brat who killed one of my shinobi!"

"He's the Yellow Flash's son, no doubt," another individual said, a blonde man with white skin and black eyes.

The Raikage, A, frowned, calming himself down so he could think more objectively. He could not help but compare this incident to the one from decades ago, when his father, the previous Raikage, sent shinobi to capture Kushina Uzumaki. They had nearly succeeded but were stopped by a mere brat...Minato Namikaze, the man who would later become the Fourth Hokage. What made this all worse, was the fact that the child who foiled their most recent attempt was Minato and Kushina's damned brat. It was as if some divine force was mocking him and his village.

"What do you want us to do, boss?" the lazy man spoke up again, his name Darui.

The Raikage thought for a moment before smiling to himself. He gestured for his attendant, a beautiful brown-skinned woman named Mabui.

"Yes, Lord Raikage?" she asked dutifully.

"Fetch Yugito," was all he said, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise.

Mabui quickly composed herself and nodded, before quickly making her way out of the office to do as ordered. Darui, usually lazy, calm and collected, was now looking at his Raikage as if the man had grown a second head.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, boss?" he asked. "Yugito is young and unstable, and she still can't fully control the Bijuu inside of her."

The Raikage smirked, "And she's as ruthless as anyone," he added. "Even without the full power of her beast, she's more than enough to kill that Uzumaki brat."

* * *

She was in meditation. It was all she was allowed to do these days, as she was trapped in the village like some kind of rabid animal. It was pretty lame if she was honest, but there really wasn't anything she could do about it. The last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of Lord Raikage's legendary fury.

Suddenly, a presence appeared behind her, "Yugito," the voice said. She turned over her shoulder to see Mabui. "Lord Raikage has a mission for you."

Yugito grinned. Her teeth sharpened, and her fingernails lengthened on instinct, making her look like a demonically possessed woman. Mabui merely felt the need to step back when she felt Yugito's untamed power beginning to seep into the air, weighing it down.

"Who do I need to kill?" was all she asked.

Mabui remained calm as she responded, "A young Konoha genin named Naruto Uzumaki."

Yugito's sick grin widened, and she spoke ominously, "Perfect. Time to spill some blood."

* * *

 **~End~**


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Five~**

* * *

" **Toneri Gaiden"**

In the forests of Fire Country, a small infant cried into the night. It looked frail, even by the standards of most children straight out of the womb, with its pale skin making it appear near death. Its position in the grass of the forest was likely an uncomfortable one, which was probably the reason for its tears.

Out of the blue, several men appeared before the crying infant, all of whom had the same pale, almost lavender-colored eyes. They each looked down at the crying baby as if it were some strange animal they had never seen before. At the front of this group, was an individual of middle age, with long brown hair and a stern face. His arms were crossed as he looked down at the weeping child.

"I can only assume this is the child you were referring to?" the man asked, looking over his shoulder to one of the men behind him.

The man in question nodded, "Yes, Lord Hiashi," he said. "He bears the eyes of our clan."

Almost as if prompted to do so by the man's words, the infant opened its eyes. Everyone who already hadn't seen the infant found themselves shocked, hardly believing that this strange-looking pale-skinned white-haired child possessed the bloodline of the Hyuga clan.

"Who in the world could this be?" one asked out loud, though the question was mostly rhetorical.

One of the other men offered an explanation, "Perhaps he is a bastard?" he proposed. "Someone in our clan must have fornicated with an outsider, resulting in a pregnancy, and they then left the child to die in the woods out of shame for their actions."

Hiashi was unconvinced, "And yet, other than the child's eyes, it shares none of the other physical features commonly found within our clan," he countered before activating his Byakugan.

This was when he truly became shocked. This infant had some of the most potent chakra he had ever seen in his entire life. As a man who had lived to know the Third Hokage, all three of the Legendary Sannin, as well as the Yellow Flash, to see someone that had this kind of chakra seemed like something out of a dream. This boy was no Hyuga, that was for sure. He was something far, far different.

"Regardless, he is an abandoned child who possesses our eyes," Hiashi continued. "He will live among us. Otherwise, the secrets of our dojutsu would be revealed to the world."

The others could only nod in agreement. Whether they liked it or not, they weren't presented with many other options.

* * *

(Age Four)

His name was Toneri. He didn't remember anyone giving him such as name, and was told that it was actually assigned to him after it just so happened to be his first word. It must have been rare for a child's first word to subsequently become their name. How many children could boast that?

Toneri had lived a strange life thus far, at least when he compared his circumstances to those of the other children in the clan. From his first memories, it was made abundantly clear to him that he was not an actual Hyuga, and that he was just a ward of the clan. He wasn't allowed to speak to members of the Main Family unless spoken to first, and even the members of the Branch Family had a higher position in the clan than he did. He was, after all, an outsider.

Currently, he found himself scrubbing the floors of Lord Hiashi's private manor. These were his typical duties. He'd clean after the Main Family, run errands for them, etc. He was essentially a servant that wasn't paid. Nevertheless, he didn't complain, for he was simply grateful to have a home at all.

As he worked diligently to make sure that the floor underneath him was spotless, he heard the sounds of footsteps moving toward him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw several members of the Main Family walking by, and was quick to move out of their path. He bowed low, making sure not to show his face.

Despite doing everything he was told he needed to do in their presence, it was clear that they still despised him. One even went as far as to kick the bucket of water he had been using to clean the floor, resulting in much of it getting on his clothes, drenching them. Even still, he didn't move or take any action against them, and stayed down until they finished walking by.

"Well, that was a bit rude," Toneri remarked with a careless smile before getting up to retrieve more water.

* * *

(Age Five)

Lord Hiashi had just been gifted his first child. It was something that was being discussed by many people throughout the clan. From what Toneri had heard, mostly from conversations he had not really be a part of, was that the child was a girl, and that she was named Hinata.

In his eyes, Hinata would just be another person he would be forced to serve for the remainder of his existence. He honestly hoped that she wouldn't be as cruel as some of the other members of the Main Family, since he had little doubt he'd be forced to deal with her a lot in the future.

Nevertheless, the birth of Hinata had made Toneri incredibly happy. Ever since the news had broke that she was going to be born, Lord Hiashi had started acting differently. He was a much happier person, first off, to the point where he actually gave Toneri days off from his duties. It made him glad to see Lord Hiashi happy.

Even though his life wasn't perfect, the fact that he even had a life at all was thanks to Lord Hiashi, who had been the one to decide that he be taken into the clan in the first place. If not for that decision, Toneri was smart enough to realize that he would have likely been killed. There was no way that the Hyuga clan would allow someone with the Byakugan to exist outside of their control.

After making that thought, Toneri just finished the last of his duties for today. He then got to work collected his cleaning equipment, and was about to return it to the storage closet before he was forced to stop in his tracks. The door at the end of the hall slid open, to reveal Lord Hiashi holding an infant girl wrapped in blankets. Toneri moved to the side, and prepared to drop the cleaning equipment to the floor and bow, but was stopped by Lord Hiashi.

"It is okay, child, you needn't bow," he was told, before Lord Hiashi smiled a bit. "Would you like to see my new daughter?"

Toneri nodded, feeling that it would be foolish to say no. Lord Hiashi then tilted the bundle in his arms down a bit so Toneri could see Hinata's face. She was a cute looking baby if he was being honest, and he had to stop himself from poking her cheeks with curiosity.

"She looks like her parents, Lord Hiashi," Toneri complimented.

Hiashi smiled at the remark, "That she does," he said before continuing on down the hallway.

Toneri smiled. It felt good to be treated like a human being.

* * *

(Age Six)

Toneri stood in silence as he stared down at yet another defeated opponent. Despite not being a member of the clan, his skills as a combatant had been noticed quickly, so Lord Hiashi was training him in the ways of the Gentle Fist. It was a decision that was met with some controversy, as many viewed it as the secrets of their sacred fighting style being passed on to an outsider.

Even if he was, in fact, an outsider, Toneri was as gifted a fighter as anyone in the clan. He was fast, incredibly so, and his Byakugan was noted to be particularly powerful, even when compared to the likes of Lord Hiashi. It only made much of the clan resent him even more, seeing that some outsider was actually more talented in the fighting style of the Hyuga than they were.

After his prodigious talent in battle had been discovered, he had gone from being a servant of the clan to now being its secret weapon. No longer was he scrubbing floors. Now, all he did was train, day and night until he dropped. Failure to give his best effort in training was met with immediate punishment, mostly involving a physical lashing.

Despite the best efforts of many, the Main Family had been unable to place a cursed seal upon his forehead. His body always reacted negatively to it, resulting in the seal failing to work before disappearing altogether. Because of this, the Main Family was unable to control him through causing pain by activating the seal, so they were forced to use more direct, physical methods of abuse.

"You are improving, child," Hiashi complimented, funny enough, being one of the few members of the clan that didn't outright despise him.

"Thank you, Lord Hiashi," Toneri responded with his trademark smile. As they were speaking, the boy he had just defeated was being dragged away to receive medical attention.

Out of all of Toneri's teachers, Lord Hiashi was the only one who never resorted to cruelty. He never belittled Toneri due to his status, and never caused him intentional physical pain. But most importantly, and the thing that honestly brought Toneri great joy, was the fact that he looked at him like he was an actual person, not like some disgusting insect.

"You're progressing faster than expected," Lord Hiashi continued. "I'd already say that you're far above genin-level, so I've proposed to Hokage-sama that you be placed in an Academy class that will be graduating next year."

Toneri tilted his head, "Will I be able to make friends, Lord Hiashi?" he asked. Friends. Such a bond was a foreign concept to him.

Hiashi nodded, "Of course, but the Academy will need to go over your file before allowing you a place in class. This could take months. Until then, I want you to continue training. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Hiashi."

* * *

(Age Seven)

Toneri was standing at a distance, watching as students funneled out of the Academy's entrance, signaling that the day was finally over and that class was being dismissed. Most took no notice of them as they rushed out of the courtyard, excited to return home to where they would be able to lounge about and do whatever they wanted.

He would be entering class next week, and decided to visit early to gauge his fellow classmates a bit. Thus far, none were particularly impressive at all. Most of them were much older than him, about twelve years old to his seven, and even still he was utterly confident that he'd be able to defeat them.

He remained unimpressed...until he saw HIM.

For most, it would be the blonde hair that they noticed first, or the cerulean blue eyes that reflected an intelligence far that of most any children. For Toneri, however, what he noticed first was the pull on his chakra. For whatever reason, he felt as if some invisible force was attempting to pull him toward this mysterious blonde boy.

From what he could tell, the boy was probably the same age as him, which meant that he was also skilled and talented beyond his years. At his side was a girl of the same age, with fair skin, black hair, and onyx eyes. Still, it was the blonde who attracted the majority of his attention.

He had hoped that the blonde would notice him as well, but he seemed more focused on getting back home. Toneri almost felt sad when he left his line of sight, so much so that he forgot that he could continue to look if he simply activated his Byakugan.

He thoughts felt muddled as he struggled to figure out what was going on. Never before had he felt his chakra pull him toward another person like that. The very idea of something like that happening seemed absolutely preposterous, so much so that he wondered if he was beginning to go crazy.

"Who are you?" he muttered to himself, breathlessly.

Deciding that the best way to find out would be to simply ask, Toneri ventured deep into the village to get some answers to his questions. It actually took several hours until he was actually satisfied with what he was told.

Naruto Uzumaki, the honorable son the Fourth Hokage and the ward of the Uchiha clan. Toneri smiled after mulling over the recently acquired information in his head. He had needed to ask around for quite a while before someone was actually willing to tell him what he wanted.

It would make sense that someone with such incredible pedigree would be the person who attracted so much of his attention. For the first time in his life, Toneri felt truly content. Based on what he felt when he first saw Naruto, and after learning as much about him as he possibly could, he honestly felt a kinship with the blonde boy.

They were both prodigies who lived among clans that considered them to be outsiders. It wasn't to say that their life experiences were exactly the same up to this point, but Naruto was the first person Toneri had ever heard of who he felt may possibly be able to understand him.

Also at the forefront of his mind, was that inexplicable pull he felt on his chakra when he had first been in Naruto's presence. For a while, he had been pondering what it could have possibly meant, and came to the conclusion that it must have signified that they were both connected somehow. He cursed himself for being too shocked to activate his Byakugan during the brief encounter; otherwise, he could have gotten a good look at Naruto's chakra as well.

He imagined that it would be powerful, perhaps even more so than his own. There was no way he'd fell such a connection to Naruto if the blonde had weak chakra. In fact, a part of him theorized that the very reason he felt connected to Naruto was due to the fact that they both had very similar chakra.

As he walked through the village some more, he continued to learn about his new classmate. Apparently, Naruto wasn't just some 'ordinary' prodigy. Even among those considered talented enough to be given that title, he still stood out as the best. A prime example of this was Izumi Uchiha, another student in his class. During any other year, she'd be the best student by far, but since she was in a class with Naruto, she placed second.

"Who are you, Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked himself with a smile. He figured he'd be given many opportunities to learn, starting with his first day of class tomorrow.

* * *

(Age Eight)

Naruto was strong, incredibly so. After having met him all those months ago, his interest had proven to be well placed, as the son of the Fourth Hokage was shown to be a prodigy of unmatched skill. Initially, things had gotten off to a bit of a rough start, as he had crossed the line by following Naruto around without his permission. He had been warned to never do it again, and decided that doing as he was told was the best decision for now.

After that, much to his glee, they were placed on the same team, along with an Inuzuka girl named Hana. This time, he had decided to give Naruto a bit more space, learning from last time that his new teammate was more of a solitary type. Nevertheless, he wasn't deterred. He would slowly push through Naruto's shell until the day arrived in which he could call him a friend. His first and only friend.

Their sensei, Danzo, was a somewhat tricky individual to read. He showed absolutely no emotion, and rarely displayed any interest in what he was doing. He was a strict teacher, forcing them to do dangerous survival exercises in which they were often pitted against each other in battle. Naruto remained undefeated.

Recently, he and Hana had been ordered by Danzo-sensei to fight Naruto, and it had resulted in yet another victory for the blonde Uzumaki. Even still, Toneri was not upset, not at all. The fight he had with Naruto that day was something that he replayed in his mind over and over as he relished in every detail.

He had been pushed to the brink and defeated. It wasn't like his spars with the Hyuga, in which he always won with relatively no difficulty. No, now he was challenged every single day, and had quickly learned what it felt like to lose. And you know what? Toneri found losing to be more enjoyable than winning...at least when it was by Naruto's hand.

Hana? She was honestly rather weak in Toneri's opinion, but he didn't dislike her or anything. She was actually incredibly useful to the team due to her skills as a medic and a tracker, so she could hardly be called useless. While her combat skills lacked behind her supplementary skills, Naruto and Toneri both made up for that with their own strength.

Thinking back on these few months, Toneri felt so very grateful. No longer was he confined to the walls of the Hyuga clan. No longer was he continually forced to spend his days surrounded by people that treated him like dirt. No longer was he a lowlife insect that one could step on without anyone batting an eye.

He was Toneri, genin of Konohagakure no Sato and member of Team One.

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the first of the several 'side story' chapters that will appear throughout this story. They will be significantly shorter than the standard chapters, and will usually be used to shine light on character backstories.**

 **This side story, "Toneri Gaiden" was a very brief summary of Toneri's life, as I'm sure many of you could have guessed. It wasn't meant to be very detailed, or wordy, but rather, I wrote it so that you guys could understand Toneri and his place in this story a bit better. I also felt that it would help make his motivations a bit clearer.**

 **The next actual chapter in this story will be coming out very soon. In fact, I can say with confidence that it will be posted Saturday night at the earliest, and Monday at the latest. Whenever I do these 'side story' chapters, it will usually be right before a regular update.**

 **Thank you guys for reading.**


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Six~**

* * *

" **Your Eyes Have Yet To Open"**

Naruto adjusted his backpack once more before continuing to navigate through the knee-high grass. His eyes were scanning around for something in particular, though he didn't seem to be in any rush. It was incredibly bright and sunny out, but the trees of the forest created an adequate amount of shade, and the cool breeze could only be described as soothing. It was the perfect day to go exploring.

Eventually, after hours of searching, he found what he was searching for. It could only be described as a ruin, an old temple of sorts that apparently hadn't been seen by mortal eyes in quite some time. The roof looked caved in, and the pillars were either on the brink of collapsing or already wholly destroyed. After gazing at the temple for a bit, Naruto removed a book from his backpack and began sifting through the pages until he stopped on the page he had marked with a folded corner.

"The Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple," he mumbled to himself. He looked back up to see a symbol of the Uzumaki clan featured prominently at the front of the building.

He closed the book, placed it back in his bag and slowly ascended the seven steps to the entrance of the temple, doing his very best to make sure that he didn't damage anything, both for his own health and the sake of the historic structure. Looking up at the archway above him, it looked as if at any moment it could collapse.

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, "I never imagined it would be in such a state," he muttered to himself before continuing through the building's entrance. The doors were practically blown off the hinges, so it was easy enough to get in.

Upon entering, he felt as if he was trespassed into some sort of time capsule, straight from the eras of old. The building itself was designed in a manner reminiscent of the time of the Warring Clans, a period of history before the existence of the shinobi villages in which everyone was constantly fighting for power and dominance.

'I suppose that even after all this time, not much has changed,' Naruto thought to himself, thinking about the current state of the world. The Legendary Hashirama Senju would likely be disappointed with how things had turned out after he put forth so much effort trying to create peace.

The most interesting aspect of the room by far had to be the wall at the back, which was decorated with various masks mounted all over the wall. The bottom portion of the wall was painted with a crimson-red flame design that crept upward, just barely reaching the masks, giving a slightly ominous vibe.

'All the masks appear to be demonic in appearance, though their designs vary,' he thought to himself, wondering what they could possibly be used for. What he could tell though, was that they weren't natural...there was something odd about them.

His body then froze when he heard a voice behind him.

"This isn't the kind of place one would expect to find an eight-year-old. Though, I suppose you're not a normal brat, are you?"

Naruto swiveled around to see who it was, and was shocked to see someone that he recognized to be a legendary shinobi, one he knew particularly well.

"Master Jiraiya," Naruto greeted respectfully.

The individual in question was a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose, waist-length, spiky white hair tied in a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face, as well as red lines under his eyes which extended all the way to the bottom of his face.

His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. Displayed prominently on his forehead was a horned forehead protector with the kanji for oil.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked down at Naruto, "Jeez kid, you're as polite as ever I see. Just like your old man."

"Pardon my asking, Master Jiraiya, but what brings you here to this place?" Naruto asked, deciding to ignore the remark and get straight to the point.

"You."

It didn't really come as a surprise, and now that he thought about it, it should have been his initial assumption. After the deaths of his parents, Jiraiya had been out traveling the world, mourning and keeping the Hokage informed on any global developments. It was an important job, but one that kept him away from the village a lot of the time. Now that he was back, it made sense that he would come to see his student's son.

"Have you seen Mito yet?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded, "From a distance, yes," he responded. "But that's actually the other reason why I'm here."

Naruto didn't respond, deciding to wait patiently for Jiraiya to explain himself. Based on the expression he was seeing on the older man's face, he could tell that the conversation they were about to have would be a serious one.

"From what I can tell, you're going to be the one looking after her," Jiraiya continued, earning a clarifying nod from Naruto. "Which means you're going to need to learn how to deal with Jinchuuriki."

"Deal with Jinchuuriki?

Jiraiya crossed his arms and nodded, "You'll need to learn how to make sure that the power sealed inside of her doesn't get out of control," he explained. "In doing so, you'll be able to stop possible rampages or worse."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This had always been something that had nagged at the back of his mind. His sister contained one of the nine Bijuu, the Kyuubi, who just so happened to be the most powerful by far. If for whatever reason, that power broke free from her seal, or the Kyuubi took over, how would he be able to stop it?

"How can I learn, Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruto then asked, making Jiraiya smirk at now being addressed as a teacher.

"Well, those eyes of yours give you an incredible advantage over most others. If strong enough, they can be used to suppress the power of the Bijuu, though only to an extent," Jiraiya explained, not surprising Naruto at all with his knowledge of his Sharingan. It made sense that the Hokage would tell him.

Naruto was beginning to get the hang of it, "Through the use of Sharingan genjutsu, you mean?" he asked, making Jiraiya smirk.

"Smart kid," Jiraiya complimented before continuing. "You're right, the Sharingan can be used to suppress the Bijuu due to its unique genjutsu capabilities; however, there is something that you need to remember, something that applies most importantly to your situation..."

Naruto waited for him to continue. He was beginning to notice that Jiraiya was incredibly theatric, almost as if he were a showman. Even during a serious discussion, he always seemed to pause mid-explanation for dramatic effect. Naruto didn't really mind though, thinking that it just added to Jiraiya's charm.

"...the more powerful the Bijuu, or the more chakra influencing the Jinchuuriki, the more powerful YOU need to be to actually suppress its influence," Jiraiya continued, ominously. "In the history of the shinobi world, there has only been a single individual capable of controlling the Kyuubi with his eyes."

Naruto knew precisely who he was talking about, "Madara Uchiha."

So, that was the level he'd need to reach? That would be quite a challenge, to say the least. From what he could recall, there was only one person in recorded history that was stronger than Madara, and that was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju himself. Did Jiraiya honestly expect him to reach such a level in so short a time?

"But thankfully, you won't be tangling with the full might of the unsealed Kyuubi," Jiraiya reassured. "The seal Minato used keeps much of the Kyuubi's influence at bay as it is, so unless it somehow manages to break free from the seal entirely, you won't have to worry about that."

Naruto nodded, "Does everything you've told me today apply to other Jinchuuriki as well, or just Mito?"

Jiraiya smiled, and Naruto could tell that he liked the question, "Yes, but there is one exception to everything that I have just told you," he explained. "A Jinchuuriki that somehow manages to cooperate and work alongside their Bijuu is immune to any genjutsu."

Fighting a Jinchuuriki that could work in perfect tandem with their Bijuu would probably be even more difficult than combating the individual Bijuu itself. Before now, Naruto was unaware that a Jinchuuriki could master the power of their tailed beast. It put into perspective just how powerful certain people in the shinobi world were.

Naruto frowned, "I need to become stronger," he said, realizing that to protect Mito, his current rate of growth just wasn't enough.

He then felt one of Jiraiya's hands placed firmly on his shoulder, "That's what I'm here for, kid," he assured. "Come to think of it, there's a jutsu I've meant to teach you...one your father would want you to have."

Naruto smiled. To learn from the man who taught his father would be an incredible honor, and he'd be a fool to refuse. It would be different from training under Lord Fugaku and Danzo-sensei, who didn't really teach anything, preferring to just have him fight and figure things out. Jiraiya was someone who would pass actual knowledge and jutsu onto him. It also helped that he felt closer to his deceased father by doing this.

He nodded, "I'll dedicate myself to your teachings, sensei."

Seemingly happy with his new student's response, Jiraiya reached to grab something in his pocket and quickly tossed it to Naruto, who caught it with ease. To his surprise, it was a water balloon of all things? Upon looking at it for a moment, Naruto could only think to say one thing.

"You carry a water balloon in your pocket?"

Jiraiya became flustered, "Just shut up and place the balloon in the palm of your dominant hand," after Naruto did as instructed he continued. "Good. Now burst it using only your chakra."

Naruto tried to do as instructed, but merely felt the water become a bit disrupted in the balloon. Hmm, it would seem that this jutsu would be more challenging to learn than most others.

"This may take you a while, so let's get out of this place before the roof caves in on top of our heads," Jiraiya proposed, looking up at the ceiling of the temple with trepidation.

A new jutsu wasn't what Naruto had expected to receive by coming here. Nevertheless, he was excited for the challenge.

* * *

(A Week Later)

"When will you be leaving?" Izumi asked calmly after skipping a stone across the river. It made it all the way to the other side before clattering among several of its brethren.

Naruto, who was sitting at her side in a relaxed position, responded, "Tomorrow morning."

Izumi frowned, but did her best to hide the expression. For whatever reason, Naruto had gotten it in his head that now was the best time to visit the ruins of his ancestral home, Uzushiogakure no Sato. Naruto had always been fascinated by historical structures and monuments, but until now that had never required him to leave the forests surrounding the village. Now, he wanted to travel alone all the way to the coast?

"It sounds dangerous," she commented, doing her best to not let her worry show. "It's a long trip to make on your own."

Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye, "This is something that I need to do, Izumi," he explained. "And it would be better to do it before we're dragged into yet another war."

Even if part of what he said made sense, she still felt that he was leaving himself vulnerable to an attack by leaving the village on his own. She would offer to travel with him, but she just so happened to be embarking on a mission of her own during that time. She and her team had been chosen to be the ceremonial guards of the Fire Daimyo during his annual trip to Konoha. It was a great honor and a testament to their achievements as a team.

In the end, Izumi acknowledged that there would simply be no convincing him otherwise, so she decided that she would just try to enjoy this time together before they both had to leave.

"Have you learned anything of value from Master Jiraiya?" she asked, shifting the topic of conversation elsewhere.

Naruto hummed in response, "Yes, various jutsu that will prove to be useful in the future, as well as information I was unaware I needed."

It didn't seem as if Naruto was in the mood to go into too much detail, so Izumi decided to remain silent for a moment and enjoy her view of the water. This had always been her special place to go and think, and recently, she had managed to convince Naruto to come with her as well. They rarely spoke during these times together, but in her opinion, that was what made it so special. Words weren't needed between them.

Hours passed, and the sun finally began to set. She subtly gazed at Naruto's face as it was illuminated by the light of the slowly disappearing sun, and couldn't help but acknowledge just how attractive of a person he actually was. She also just so happened to be privy to the fact that he was even more beautiful on the inside.

"We should begin heading home soon," he announced before standing up and stretching his body.

Izumi nodded, though she was a bit disappointed that the moment was ending. She stood to her feet and brushed any of the dirt that clung to her pants. Naruto waited for her to stand at his side before they began the walk home, and as usual, they hardly spoke, minus the occasional question from her.

Still, she'd be content to stand in silence at his side for the remainder of her days, for there was no more comfortable a feeling in this world. And whenever he did decide to speak, it was never pointless chatter. No, he was the person who would always tell her whatever she needed to hear. He was honest, kind, skilled, powerful, and quite frankly, the most interesting person in the whole world.

It just so happened that the most interesting person in the world rarely spoke. But still, the greatest things in life were often the rarest.

* * *

(A Few Days Later)

Naruto admired the night sky as it reflected off the water of the coastline. Littered throughout the endless expanse of black nothingness were tiny specks of light, stars, which in reality were larger in size than anything he could possibly imagine, even more so than the moon itself, which seemed so huge by comparison. It really put into perspective just how vast the universe was, that there existed anomalies so massive and bright that they could be seen from light years away.

His moment of contemplation was interrupted when he heard what could only be described as a guttural coughing noise. Several feet away from him, was an elderly looking fisherman preparing a small boat, large enough to accommodate two or three people tops, while also looking rather old and worn down. Despite this, it was Naruto's only way to the island of Uzushiogakure.

"Just to let you know, kid, I'll only take you halfway," the fisherman warned while preparing his vessel. "You're one of them shinobi freaks though, so I'm sure you'll somehow make it the rest of the way."

Naruto nodded, as quite honestly he could simply walk across the water the entire way if he felt that was his only option. The only reason he was taking a boat was because he wanted someone experienced with these particular waters to serve as somewhat of a guide. This was his first trip away from the village, so he was going to be as careful as possible.

"Very well," Naruto commented in agreement. "I would like to head out immediately."

The fisherman frowned before muttering to himself while finishing his final preparations. He had been apprehensive at the prospect of sailing at night, but with the extra payment, he finally agreed. For whatever reason, he was abnormally terrified at the idea of sailing anywhere near Uzushiogakure, and spoke about the place in a nervous, hushed whisper.

He clicked his yellowed teeth before making a sweeping motion with his arm, "Fine, fine. Get in the damn boat already then."

Naruto was quick to do as he was told, and the two unlikely travel companions were out at sea. It was so dark that Naruto could hardly see in any direction, so he was forced to activate his Sharingan. The action seemed to make the fisherman nervous, likely because the crimson eyes glowing in the dark were almost demonic in nature.

"So, any particular reason you want to go to Uz- I mean, that island?" the fisherman asked before correcting himself. It seemed that he figured trying to be civil towards the kid with the demon-red eyes was a good idea.

Naruto inclined his head slightly, "Knowledge," was all he said, which made the fisherman scoff a bit.

"Then you'd be just like those Uzumaki folk," he explained. "That's all they cared about...knowledge, learning, junk like that. They were scholarly types, I suppose."

Actually finding this new piece of information to be useful, Naruto decided to keep the conversation going.

"You seem to know a bit about them, so please tell me...what happened to the Uzumaki clan?" he asked, causing the fisherman to tense up a bit.

It was one of the great mysteries of the Shinobi World. How did one of the most renowned and respected clans merely disappear from the face of the Earth? Nobody knew what happened, only that one day, the people of Uzushiogakure no Sato ceased to exist. Many tried to investigate, but none had been able to breach through the intricacies of the Uzumaki clan's defenses.

"I know nothing bout that," the fisherman quickly responded, his tone hurried and on edge.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. In all honesty, he felt that the fisherman knew more than he was letting on, and he subtly channeled more chakra to his eyes. He felt bad about using a genjutsu against an innocent person, but he needed answers. Besides, this genjutsu wasn't harmful, as it merely made a person more inclined to reveal their true thoughts.

"Speak your thoughts," Naruto calmly commanded, and the fisherman's demeanor relaxed, and his eyes lost focus.

"As I said, I don't really know nothing," he confessed. "All I remember is that night, one just like any other. The Uzumaki had sent a messenger early in the day to tell us to stay out of the waters. Then, while we were all sleeping...it happened."

The wind then began to pick up, generating an eerie howling sound and rocking the boat in the water. The small sail of the boat fluttered due to the force, and Naruto had to use his hands to keep his hair from obscuring his vision.

After waiting for the wind to die down, Naruto spoke again, "Continue," he said.

The fisherman's eyes became even more unfocused as the genjutsu took further root, "I was sleeping in my shack like I always did at that time, and then...t-the sky, it bled red...like blood. It churned my insides and made me puke out my guts just by looking at it. It felt like I was seeing something I wasn't supposed to see, you know?"

Naruto frowned and released the genjutsu, resulting in the fisherman shaking his head as if freed from a daze. With that explanation, he was left with more questions than answers. What caused the sky to become red? What caused the Uzumaki to essentially disappear? He still didn't have an answer for any of those questions.

"W-We'll be getting halfway soon," the fisherman mumbled, still experiencing the after-effects of the genjutsu.

Naruto nodded, "Thank you."

Eventually, they reached the point where the fisherman refused to go any further, so Naruto was forced to step off of the boat and stand atop the water as if it was solid ground. Without another word, he began walking toward where he knew the island to be. It was a strange experience, as due to the darkness of the night, the ocean looked like a black miasma. It was easy to figure out why people didn't like sailing out here at night.

It took a little while, but eventually, he saw something in the distance. At first, it was just a shadow in the distance, then an undefinable shape, and finally, he managed to see it fully for what it was. As he was finally close enough, standing before it, there was little doubt in his mind that this was Uzushiogakure no Sato.

The structures on the island were, marvelous, to say the least, but they were all clearly in a state of disrepair due to decades of being left unattended to. Funny enough, the closer he got to the village, the more he realized that it was built upon two islands, not a single one, with both sides being connected by a bridge.

"No signs of any conflict here," Naruto mumbled to himself. Still, he was only investigating from a distance, so he was bound to learn more once he entered the confines of the village.

After searching around for a bit, he managed to find what appeared to be the village's main entrance. Two massive stone doors were what separated Uzushiogakure from the rest of the world, and after today, human eyes would be set upon its wonders once again.

Now standing before the grand entrance, he placed his hands on the doors and pushed with all of his might. It didn't budge, not even slightly. He channeled chakra through his body to augment his physical strength and still didn't manage to get any further. After his second attempt, he realized that the doors may just be too heavy to push through and weaved through a set of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage."

He sank below the ground, deciding that going under the wall was always a possibility if the doors refused to budge. Making sure to advance forward far enough to rise up on the other side of the wall, he then burst out of the Earth, hoping to find himself at the center of the village. However, his eyes widened when, despite all logic, he found himself to still be facing the very same sealed entrance.

'I was certain I traveled under the wall,' he thought to himself.

His eyes narrowed as a possible explanation came to mind. Deciding to test his new theory, he then took to the air, leaping over the wall and landing on the other side. As he predicted, despite clearly jumping to the other side, he found himself landing in front of the massive doors once more.

"Genjutsu," he commented resolutely. Clearly, an illusion was interfering with his senses and spatial awareness.

He reactivated his Sharingan, and upon doing so, something immediately changed. The doors were now revealed to have a single piece of paper stuck at their center. Naruto approached this paper to see what it said, and saw that it was covered in indecipherable fuinjutsu scrawl, with the kanji for blood written at the center.

Naruto stared at it for several minutes, trying to get as best of an understanding of it as he could before reaching a conclusion. Clearly, it was a seal meant to keep people from entering the village. With his Sharingan activated, he was actually able to see a sphere of transparent chakra surrounding the village. Working in tandem with an advanced genjutsu, it was enough to keep even elite shinobi out.

"Blood," Naruto said aloud, reading the kanji. Deciding to side with his gut instincts, he removed a kunai from his weapon pouch and made a small cut in his thumb. He then dragged his bleeding thumb along the length of the paper and waited for something to happen.

It took a while, but then the door began to groan, almost as if it were a person trying to move their body after extended immobility. They opened entirely on their own, and as they did Naruto wondered what he would see. The rational part of him expected signs of violence, death, and decay, whereas, another part imagined a still fully functioning society hidden within.

What he saw, however, was nothing. There was no destruction, no signs of battle, nothing...other than the eerie scent of death. As he ventured through the entrance and into the village, he felt as if he was treading upon forbidden ground. The village, vast and once bustling with life, was now so silent, and the vile stench of death permeated through the air. It was an assault on the senses.

'Where should I even begin?' Naruto thought to himself before pressing onward.

His reason for traveling to such a faraway land was to learn more about Jinchuuriki. Without fuinjutsu, Jinchuuriki wouldn't even exist, and there were no more celebrated experts of fuinjutsu in recorded history than the Uzumaki clan. Hell, even the very seal that kept the Kyuubi at bay in his sister was of Uzumaki origin. So, in his opinion, to better understand Jinchuuriki, understanding the Uzumaki and their methods was an excellent first step.

He decided to push toward the center of the village. Currently, he was on the right side of the village located on the right island, and if he wanted to explore the left, he would need to access the bridge. Based on what he could see just by looking at it from a distance, living in the left portion of the village was a privilege afforded to those of high wealth and status. The buildings were larger and appeared to be of a higher quality, and at the center, there was a massive, beautiful tower that was a testament to the architectural genius of his ancestors.

He reached what could only be described as the town square and was forced to come to an abrupt halt. For the first time since coming here, he found SOMETHING. Corpses numbering in the hundreds were all strewn about, men, women, children all. The smell they generated nearly forced Naruto to vomit, but he steeled himself before looking at the horrid scene with a more analytical eye.

Oddly enough, none of the bodies showed any injuries of any kind...yet, they all appeared to be mummified. He wracked his mind for anything that could serve as a cause for such a bizarre phenomenon, but found nothing.

As he continued to stare on in morbid fascination, everything around him suddenly went black, as if his vision was stolen. Then, a voice echoed through his mind...if it could even be described as a voice at all. It spoke in his tongue, but it sounded more like an inhuman entity attempting to mimic human speech. It was the most disturbing sound he had ever heard.

" **Your eyes...have yet...to open."**

As soon as he heard the voice in his mind, he gripped his head in agony and fell to his knees. He felt as if his bones were being crushed within his body, and his head was plagued by what could only be described as the worst feeling imaginable. Blood began pooling on the ground beneath him, and he quickly realized it was dripping from his eyes and ears.

'W-What is happening to me?' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth through the agony. It was the only thing that kept him from screaming. To top it all off, he couldn't keep it in anymore and vomited all over the ground.

Eventually, the sharp pain became a dull ache, a throbbing of the brain, a stinging of the eyes, and a creaking of the bones. Once again he was able to see, but his vision was obscured due to the blood that had begun pooling in his eyes. It took all of his strength to rise to his feet once more, and he only managed to do so on shaky legs.

Despite his condition, he was able to notice when a presence appeared behind him. Turning around, his blurred vision afforded him enough perception to be able to see what seemed to be a shadowy phantom raging toward him. Acting only on his developed battle instinct at this point, he was able to move back quickly enough to avoid a slash that would have surely killed him.

The phantom spoke, though the words were muffled due to Naruto's injured ears, though it was clear that the individual was female.

His knees buckled under the weight of his body, and in an attempt to better understand his situation he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Upon doing so, his vision improved drastically, and he was face to face with a beautiful young woman. He noticed first the long, straight, blonde, hair bound with taut bandages, then a set of dark eyes and finally red lipstick. But his eyes narrowed when he saw that she wore the standard Kumogakure forehead protector.

"-you don't look so good," she asked with a cat-like grin, though he only heard the half end of it as his hearing returned just in time. "Naruto Uzumaki. I've been following you for some time."

Naruto found himself struggling to even breathe, "You aim to kill me?" he said, asking the obvious question.

She grinned, licking her lips like a predator.

"That is the plan."

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It marks an important step in this story, because it introduces one of the major plot points, one that will become very clear to you all as future chapters unfold.**

 **Before anyone says it, yes, I am completely aware that in canon the Uzumaki were destroyed by a joint assault performed by several other villages. Nevertheless, I changed that in my story, and trust me, at least in my opinion, the story of their demise is far more interesting here. Just know, that the actions of the Uzumaki clan play a considerable role in the plot overall.**

 **I'd like to once again thank you all for your support thus far. I knew that these types of stories were usually popular on this site, but I never expected this story to find as much success as it had in such a short time.**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Seven~**

* * *

" **Man and Beast"**

The two blondes stood face to face, one looking tall and confident, and the other looking as if merely standing was becoming a struggle. Naruto's arms were hanging limply at his sides as he desperately gasped for air. Yugito, on the other hand, had one hand rested comfortably on her hip as she yawned mockingly.

"I almost feel bad...killing you as you are now," Yugito taunted. "Had your condition been any better, I'm sure you would have put up quite a fight. That is, if you're as skilled as people say you are."

Naruto wasn't sure what was going on with him, but it was quite clear that merely hearing that voice in his mind was enough to completely ravage his body, almost like an invasive toxin. He was unsure why it had such an effect on him, but he was sure of one thing...such a voice was not meant to be heard by human ears.

"You were sent by Kumogakure?" Naruto asked after managing to get his breathing under control.

Yugito nodded, clearly proud of her village, "That's right, filth. You humiliated Lord Raikage, so you should have expected retribution."

"All I did was save a three-year-old girl from being kidnapped," Naruto countered tiredly. "If your Raikage is the type of person to order such a thing, then you'd have to be morally bankrupt to serve him at all. What does that say about you then?"

Yugito frowned upon hearing his point. Her nails and teeth both elongated, and Naruto could practically feel the powerful chakra radiating from her body. Naruto activated his Sharingan, which allowed him to get a better view of her chakra as a whole. It was potent, and while not as vast in quantity as his own, it reminded him of someone he knew.

"You're a jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked calmly, only causing Yugito to get even more aggravated.

"I'm Yugito Ni!" she spat in response before her chakra flared to even greater proportions, distorting her voice. "AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH TALKING FOR TODAY!"

Immediately after finishing, she blurred out of sight in a flash of speed. Naruto's Sharingan allowed him to see enough of her movements, which allowed him to dodge just in time. As he slid back in the other direction, he took note of her nails. They were now nearly a foot long in length, and glistened in the moonlight like razor-sharp knives.

With every second her chakra grew more and more powerful, as did her fury. It soon became clear that there was no reasoning with a person like this, and despite his harrowing physical condition, he would need to dig in his heels and fight.

Right as he finished that thought, she blurred in speed once more, though this time it was much faster than before. He then felt his ribs creak as if on the brink of snapping as he was hit with a vicious kick. The force of the strike was so great that he was actually sent flying into the stone wall of one of the nearby buildings, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

Not an Uzumaki for nothing though, Naruto was quick to rise from his precarious position and avoid a falling ax kick that actually left cracks in the street below. Looking at his once very beautiful opponent, he noted that she now looked as if she were possessed. Her face was contorted in inhuman fury, and her eyes belayed almost barbaric psychopathy.

"You're good at running!" she shrieked before disappearing in speed once more.

He saw nothing. As he waited for the inevitable pain, he cursed himself. Years of training had brought him to this point, and despite it all, he still found himself facing an opponent that was overmatching him. To be fair to himself, he was quite literally half her age, and unlike her, he wasn't capable of using the power of a Bijuu, but still.

His instincts screamed at him, and he looked to his right to see his opponent preparing to kill him, with her blade-like nails poised to pierce through his skull. He had always thought it was ridiculous when people in stories lamented about seeing their lives flash before their eyes before death; however, now, a part of him understood. Except in this moment, in this brief instant of time, all of could think about was the promises he had made throughout his life.

As the killing blow inched toward him, he was finally able to see. It wasn't that she appeared any slower, rather, in the subtle movements in which she exerted her strength, he was vividly able to see an image of her next move. Due to this sudden change, he was able to tilt his body back, fast enough to narrowly avoid death.

Yugito had put all of her weight into what she had assumed would be the finishing blow, and therefore, she lost her balance, nearly falling forward onto her face. Falling soon became the least of her worries, however, when she felt a kick land against the side of her head with pinpoint precision, causing her to be knocked back several feet, bouncing on the hard cobblestoned ground like a stone skipping on water.

"How was he able to..?" she mumbled after getting back to her feet. Her eyes then widened as she noticed the change in her opponent. The very same crimson eyes stared back at her, but now, there were three tomoe in each eye instead of two.

Naruto, on the other hand, looked on toward the enraged Jinchuuriki with more clarity than he had ever been afforded before. It didn't take a genius to realize that his Sharingan had taken the final step in its evolution. The third tomoe, the point in which all of the Sharingan abilities reached peak form. Rather than just being able to see things more clearly, he was now able to fully predict the movements of whomever he was fighting.

"I have things that I still have to do," Naruto calmly explained, his eyes narrowing. "People are counting on me, so I cannot die here. I apologize, but you will fail in your mission."

Yugito grinned psychotically in response before lowering herself to the ground, standing on all fours like a cat. As it had been for the entirety of their brief bout, her chakra increased in ferocity, so much so that it became visible. Blue chakra swirled around her, actually causing a breeze as it fluctuated in the air.

"I must admit, for a kid you aren't all that bad," Yugito complimented, though her tone was demeaning. "But nobody who has ever pushed me this far has ever lived. So, I'm afraid..."

Halfway through her sentence, the ground cracked underneath her, and she launched herself toward him faster than most could blink.

"...you're dead!" she finished once she was in range.

Surprisingly, she met no resistance, and her clawed hand pierced straight through his chest. As the blood spattered across her face her grin only increased in size. She had done it! Just like all of the other missions she had been on before, she felt the warm blood of her enemy decorating her face and body. It was a glorious feeling.

She made sure to look at her victim's face, taking in every detail as the blood began pouring from his mouth. The part of her that would have felt bad about killing a young child had left her long ago, so all she felt was utter glee. Nothing could possibly get in the way of the euphoria she was experiencing.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bombs."

Upon hearing the voice, her eyes widened, and she quickly turned over her shoulder to see Naruto standing behind her, completely unharmed, preparing a jutsu. Turning back around, she saw the Naruto she had just pierced fade away into nothing.

'Shit, genjutsu!' she thought to herself hurriedly.

A torrent of flames was then spewed from Naruto's mouth and approached the dazed Jinchuuriki with blinding speed. She was unable to react in time, and was engulfed almost instantly. Naruto stood across from the blazing inferno, which along with Yugito's shrieks of agony, was fairly loud due to the roaring of the flames.

As he waited for the results of his jutsu to be laid bare, he lifted his hands and looked down upon them. He felt like a completely different person now. His perception, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before with the previous stages of his Sharingan. Now he knew how Lord Fugaku, and the other elite fighters of the Uchiha perceived combat with their eyes. It almost felt unfair for those who hadn't been born with the eyes of the Uchiha clan.

It didn't take very long for the flames to die down, and when they did he saw his opponent face down on the ground, struggling to bring herself up to her feet. Her hair was singed, and her skin was littered with several severe burns that would need medical attention soon otherwise they'd leave permanent scarring.

"You cannot continue and still hope to live," Naruto commented. "I have no desire to take your life. Surrender now, and I will allow you to leave."

In an unexpected move, his words only served to amuse Yugito, who began to laugh. Her back trembled as the eerie laugh escaped her lips, echoing throughout the surrounding area. Naruto remained unaffected, despite the fact that what he was witnessing was something that would make an ordinary person step back in worry.

"Y-You'll LET me go?" she asked rhetorically. "The prey doesn't ALLOW the predator to leave. The predator leaves when it's eaten its full. That's how things work in this world of beasts!"

Naruto could only look on at what he viewed as a victim of the shinobi system. One did not come to such conclusions on their own, someone had to have conditioned her to see the world the way she did. It made Naruto feel pity, looking down at this person who could have very well lived a normal life had she not been forced to become a professional murderer.

With no discernible physical reaction, Naruto spoke "You and I are not beasts...we are human," he said, pointing out the fatal flaw in her philosophy. "We possess the mental capacity to push past our baser instincts. It is what allows us to nurture and care for others, even when it means putting ourselves at risk. That is what separates us from other animals...the ability to find greater purpose in life, one beyond merely surviving."

Only silence followed. The kind of foreboding silence that could only occur when someone's worldview was questioned. Naruto could practically hear the gears turning in Yugito's head. It was very likely that this was the first time someone had ever decided to point out why her worldview was incorrect, either because they felt it was pointless, or because they couldn't care to do so.

"You're wrong," she growled. "You're still young, but one day you'll come to see the world for what it really is. The more death you witness, the more blood you spill, the line between man and beast will become blurred, until you eventually reach the very same place that I have…."

Naruto simply waited for her to finish. His body was still recuperating, and every moment he could stall would increase his chances of survival should she decided to continue this fight.

Yugito grinned at him as she brought herself back to all fours, "...a place of acceptance," she continued. "I've come to accept that this is the way that human beings truly are. And, if we truly are mere beasts of slaughter, then I may as well become the most dangerous of them all...the apex predator."

Deciding that talking was now pointless, Naruto activated a pair of summoning seals on his wrists, and two shuriken appeared in his hands at the blink of an eye. Faster than most could track, Naruto unleashed a barrage of metallic death, flinging shuriken after shuriken. To her credit, Yugito remained defensive, either dodging or using her elongated nails to parry the assault.

"You seem to be taking this seriously," she taunted before pausing her words to lean back and avoid a shuriken that would have pierced her skull. "Where's all your 'humanity' now? You don't seem all that hesitant to kill me."

Naruto ignored her, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu," he said after weaving through a set of hand seals, faster than the eye could see.

Upon doing so, a multitude of miniature fireballs were expelled from his mouth. However, he put a twist on the jutsu by simultaneously throwing shuriken as well, resulting in balls of flames with shuriken spinning dangerously at their center.

"How fun!" Yugito remarked, before she jumped into the air and avoided the danger.

Naruto was then forced to take a momentary defensive approach when what appeared to be tiny balls of blue fire were expelled from Yugito's mouth like spit. At the center of all of the flaming projectiles, he could see hair in the shape of mice, which were engulfed entirely in blue flame. They all came speeding toward him with precision. He dodged, but was surprised when the attack he avoided changed course and came roaring toward him once more.

'They home in on their target,' he thought to himself before turning and jumping in the other direction.

He weaved through the various roads and alleyways of Uzushiogakure, all the while doing his best to maintain a distance between himself and the flaming mouse hairballs that seemed to be inching closer and closer by the second. To make matters worse, with every moment that went by, the hairballs appeared to multiply, increasing in number.

"Earth Style: Mobile Core," Naruto announced, his hands forming the seal of the snake while he was still moving. Immediately after, a portion of the ground rose behind him as he continued to sprint on, resulting in many of the hairballs making contact and exploding.

Several hairballs managed to avoid the earth core and continue on toward their target. Naruto took to the air, spinning and rotating with grace and dexterity, narrowly avoiding the flaming projectiles. Realizing that dodging wouldn't cut it, Naruto created a shadow clone, grabbed its arm, and tossed it into the remaining mouse hairballs. He then fell safely toward the ground, watching as his clone was engulfed in flames.

Before he could reach the ground, however, he was forced to flip backward midair to avoid another blitzing attack from Yugito, who seemed hellbent and cutting him to shreds with her claws. Finally, landing securely on the ground, Naruto turned to face his opponent. They two stood off for several moments.

"No one has ever given me a fight like this," Yugito commented with a grin. "No wonder Lord Raikage wants you dead."

Naruto merely stared at her, "You talk quite a bit," he responded, causing her to grit her teeth in frustration.

Her anger then quickly turned to glee, "Bye-bye," she taunted, to Naruto's brief confusion.

Before he could react, a pair of hands erupted from the ground and gripped his ankles in a vice. Looking down, he quickly recognized that they were Yugito's.

'She created a clone,' he observed as the original Yugito came speeding toward him. It seemed she was more capable of strategy than he had initially given her credit for.

Much like she had earlier, she attempted to stab his chest with her claws. This time, however, her hands were grabbed by Naruto, mere millimeters before they would have reached his flesh. A battle of wills ensued, in which both parties exerted themselves to their max strength, with Yugito trying her damnedest to push her nails into his flesh, and Naruto doing his best to prevent her from doing so.

"You can't resist forever," Yugito taunted. "Every second my chakra gets stronger and stronger. I can play this game all day!"

Naruto's grip on her wrists tightened. His calm expression only served to confuse Yugito, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion. Before she could even begin to ask what he was planning, she heard an odd sound above her. Looking up, her eyes widened in shock when she saw another Naruto falling from the air above her, holding a sphere of blue rotating chakra in his right hand.

'W-What is that?' she thought to herself in horror.

She tried to get away, but the Naruto gripping her wrists wouldn't allow her. Before she could acknowledge the irony of the trap she had planned ending up being her undoing, the Naruto falling toward her rammed the strange sphere of chakra into her back.

The power behind the attack was massive, tearing and grinding into her flesh. Such was the force of the jutsu that Yugito was slammed into the stone ground below her, resulting in the area surrounding her being crushed. The Naruto that had been holding her in place disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing himself to have been a Shadow Clone.

The real Naruto, who had just used the Rasengan in battle for the first time, looked down at his wounded opponent. She was bleeding profusely, and based on what he could see it was clear that many of her bones would require mending. Thankfully, she was now unconscious, so he could move on without having to worry about getting attacked. Pausing for a moment, he looked around him at the once bustling city of Uzushiogakure and sighed.

'I came here for knowledge and was only met with conflict,' he thought to himself in disappointment.

Out of his line of sight, behind him, Yugito was experiencing a change. Her skin began peeling off, revealing a dark-red, nearly black, layer of chakra underneath. As the process continued, Naruto quickly became aware of the massive increase in chakra behind him and looked toward the unconscious Yugito with alarm. The chakra he was feeling now was in a completely different league than what he had felt earlier.

'So this is the power of the Nibi?' he thought. 'It must be using her weakened state as an opportunity to escape.'

Soon, her entire body was encompassed by the blood-red chakra, until she looked nothing like a human at all. Her eyes were replaced by large glowing circles, and her mouth was now a maw with a similar glow, as if inside she was housing some incredible energy.

There was no longer any human intelligence there. He was no longer face-to-face with Yugito, but rather, the Nibi influencing her unconscious body with its chakra. In the presence of such potent, untamed chakra, Naruto began to wonder if he would have any chance at all against such a foe. He was still just a child, a genin, after all. Then, he remembered what Jiraiya had revealed to him.

'Genjutsu,' he remembered. 'I can suppress the chakra of the Nibi using my Sharingan. I just need to find the opportunity-"

Before he could finish his thought, Yugito disappeared in speed greater than he had ever witnessed before. Then, he saw crimson and quickly looked down to see that blood was spurting from a wound in his side. His eyes widened as he realized he had been attacked before he could even blink.

Despite the pain of the injury and the blood dripping down his side, Naruto created distance by jumping back several feet. Yugito was now entirely like a beast, her vision darting around in all directions, looking for something, anything, to kill. She was no longer a person with the sole objective to kill him...she was now a monster that wanted to slaughter anything in sight.

Soon, her eyes set on him and he wracked his mind over what his next course of action should be. This time, he was more prepared, and his Sharingan was able to track her movements as she blurred toward him with astonishing speed. However, when he tried to move, he felt his body wracked with intense pain and realized that the injury to his side was far more dangerous than he had initially thought it to be.

'I can't move,' he realized as the unstable Jinchuuriki came barreling towards him.

Thankfully, right before Yugito could make contact with him, a massive mallet of red, glowing chakra slammed down on her, crushing the ground below. Naruto immediately recognized the jutsu and looked up toward the nearby rooftops to see Toneri giving him a casual wave.

"Hello, Naruto," he greeted with his signature smile. "How are you?"

Naruto, breathing heavy due to blood loss, used all of his strength to jump into the air and land on the roof at Toneri's side. For once, he was pleased to see his teammate.

"I could be better," Naruto responded, before looking down toward the hammer of red chakra that was pinning Yugito to the ground. "That won't be able to hold her for long."

Toneri's expression became a bit more serious, "I know," he acknowledged.

Almost as if on cue, the chakra mallet was obliterated by the sheer magnitude and potency of the Nibi's chakra. Naruto and Toneri both got into lowered stances as they prepared fora possible incoming attack. With someone at his side, Naruto was feeling more confident about his chances, but was once again reminded of his injury when he felt the painful pulsating sensation on his side.

"How do we defeat such an enemy, Naruto?" Toneri asked, looking toward his teammate. "We are not yet strong enough to fight such foes, and you are injured."

After a bout of heavy breathing, Naruto explained, "I need to find an opportunity to put it under my genjutsu," he explained. "Do you have any jutsu that can restrain it?"

Toneri seemed to think for a moment before responding, "I do, but as you can see, it is able to overpower my Tool Creation Jutsu fairly quickly."

"A brief second of eye contact is all I need," Naruto assured.

Nodding in understanding, Toneri turned to face the confused Jinchuuriki down below them. It was scanning the area, looking for anything that may serve as prey. It was clear that Naruto's injury would make a drawn-out fight impossible. The only way they could subdue this beast would be for Naruto to use his Sharingan, and if he were to lose consciousness due to blood loss before that happened, they'd both die.

Deciding to be gutsy, Toneri jumped from his elevated and landed directly in front of Yugito, much to Naruto's surprise. Before he could issue out a warning, Toneri clapped his hands together, and barbed chains made of pure red chakra rose out of the ground, wrapping around Yugito and retraining her. She writhed and struggled, pushing the chains to their limits as it seemed they could snap at any moment.

"N-Now, Naruto!" Toneri shouted, the strain of his jutsu causing sweat to trickle down his forehead as he kept his hands together.

Not needing to be told twice, Naruto leaped from the rooftop, landing directly in front of the struggling Yugito, who looked at him with beastly curiosity as she momentarily stopped struggling. Naruto used this as his moment, and made eye contact with the rampaging Jinchuuriki. His Sharingan eyes spun hypnotically, and Yugito froze almost instantly.

Slowly but surely, the chakra around her began to fade away until she was back to her normal state, still wholly unconscious. Naruto and Toneri both were relieved, with the latter allowing the chakra chains to disappear, ending the immense strain on his chakra reserves.

"We did it, Naruto," said Toneri with a smile.

Naruto didn't respond as he fell face-first onto the ground, having finally lost too much blood to stay conscious.

* * *

When his eyes fluttered open, he felt like he was in a daze. He stared up at a wooden ceiling and took note of the fact that he was resting on the ground. Naruto brought himself to a seated position, quickly noticing that his shirt had been removed and that bandages were wrapped around his sides.

"You lost a lot of blood, Naruto. You should rest and move as little as possible."

Naruto recognized the voice, so he felt no surprise when he saw Toneri sitting crosslegged at his side. For once, Naruto found a bit of comfort in Toneri's presence, the kind he had only experienced before when spending time with Izumi. It was the feeling of friendship, of camaraderie.

"How...How long has it been?" Naruto asked while cradling his side.

Toneri looked forward, toward a roaring fireplace at the other end of the room, "Only twenty-four hours," he answered.

Naruto nodded tiredly before slumping back down to lay on his back. His body felt utterly sapped of energy, and he quickly realized that his chakra had likely been going haywire over the past hours doing its best to heal him.

"I sent a clone to take the Kumogakure Jinchuuriki far away," Toneri said, speaking again. "I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to leave her in Uzushiogakure."

Naruto's body was wracked with a bit of pain as he remained still, "Where are we now?" he asked.

"I took you back across the water to the fishing village," Toneri explained with a smile. "They had doctors here that were able to treat your wounds. They said they had never seen a healing factor like yours before, and that most people would have died from such an injury. But we both know that you are anything but normal."

Naruto stayed silent, trying to relax. Months ago, he would have never trusted Toneri enough to allow himself to completely rest in his presence. However, seeing as he had just risked his life to help him defeat the Nibi Jinchuuriki, Naruto felt that the least he could do was give him his trust.

"You followed me to Uzushiogakure?" Naruto asked, realizing that was the only way he could have arrived to help him in time.

Toneri appeared sheepish and scratched the back of his head, "Well, yes. I know that you told me not to follow you anymore, but I figured traveling alone would be really dangerous after everything that is happening between the village and Kumogakure. So, I apologize for-"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted, "Toneri."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Silence reigned as Naruto finally allowed himself to fall back to sleep. Toneri on the other hand, looked down at his teammate with a smile. It was different from his usual grin, more genuinely happy. Naruto had essentially just acknowledged him, giving him his thanks and trusting him enough to sleep in his presence.

"You're welcome, Naruto."

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading. However, I feel that I should address some of the criticisms I've gotten recently (mostly in PMs). First off, many people were upset that Yugito was able to enter Uzu; however, if you had read clearly, you would have known that Naruto unlocked the entrance to Uzu, and at no point did I say that it locked behind him. She was able to enter because of this.**

 **Now, secondly, I would like to address something that I have noticed recently, and that I'm confident I will encounter quite often while publishing this story. Even though some of you are clamoring for it, Naruto WILL NOT be a perfect overpowered character. He'll make mistakes; people will be able to sneak up on him, etc. The real problem here, is that a lot of readers don't view Naruto as a character, but rather, as an extension of themselves. Therefore, whenever he fails or makes a mistake, they feel as if it is a slight against them.**

 **It's just a story guys, filled with fictional characters and fictional events. I'd like to state that I realize most of my readers understand that, so this author's note is honestly just a message to the vocal minority. To that vocal minority, I'm not trying to attack you or anything; I just want you to understand that sometimes things will happen in this story that you don't like. If you want to see a story where Naruto is a perfect, unbeatable (boring) badass, then there are plenty on this site where he is like that.**

 **I'm here to write a story for those who are sick of all the tropes, all the cliches, and overpowered characters. Naruto will certainly be strong, but not unbeatable. He will be smart, but not omniscient. That is how good characters are. They're like actual people in the sense that they are not perfect.**

 **I hope you all understand what I mean with all this. Either way, in my mind there is no such things as bad criticism, I just wanted to address some concerns.**

 **On a side note, I'd like to give a** **Quick shoutout to HorrificallyDreadful. We've been supportive of one another's work for some time now, and I definitely feel that he deserves some extra recognition for his writing prowess. He's currently working on two stories, each titled _Coward_ and _Please Believe Me_. _Please Believe Me_ is an excellent story which involves many supernatural themes, and while I don't want to spoil anything for any of you, I advise that you read it if you are a fan of the horror genre. Either way, I highly recommend you check these two stories out, as well as any other stories that he has posted or posts in the future.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this update. Thank you all again.**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Eight~**

* * *

 **"To Be A Shinobi"**

The Sharingan...the eyes that reflected the heart...that's what Naruto always called them. Looking at her newly acquired ocular jutsu in the mirror, Izumi couldn't help but think that hers reflected sorrow. Red eyes which now reflected the blood of her fallen comrade...that was all she saw.

'Is this the weight of the agony that you endure, Naruto?' she thought to herself, before shaking her head. No, it was disrespectful of her to compare her pain to that of someone who has lost so much.

Nevertheless, sharing a bit in Naruto's pain made her feel as though she understood him a bit better. She had seen many people die throughout her life, mostly due to her father bringing her to look at the horrors of the Third Shinobi World War first hand; however, now was the first time she had been forced to watch the life drain from the eyes of someone she knew personally.

Tenma, her teammate, had died. To be more specific, his life had been stolen, taken by a monster who hid behind a mask. Izumi vividly remembered the helplessness she felt when facing against the masked man, with all of her attacks going through him as if he were a mere phantom. She would have surely perished that day if not for Tenma intervening at the cost of his own life.

Her thoughts were interrupted, and she was forced to compose herself after she felt a familiar presence approaching her from behind. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the little bundle of energy that was her sister, Mito. The girl's presence had been incredibly helpful over the past few days, but she'd be lying if she said the first time she saw her she didn't flinch. The redness of her hair initially caused Izumi's mind to be assaulted with images of blood.

"Big sis, mama says that big bro will be coming home soon," the little girl remarked with a smile. "She said that he promised before he left that he'd be back by today no matter what!"

Izumi nodded, quite skillfully hiding her inner turmoil, "Yes, I heard," she confirmed. "And Naruto always keeps his word, so expect him to return any minute now."

Mito squirmed with delight, "Gah, I'm so excited!" she beamed. "I can't wait to show him the new drawings that I made for him!"

The remark made Izumi raise her brow in mock surprise, "Drawings?" she asked, knowing that her sister came in with the sole purpose of showing off her artwork.

The inquiry produced an expected result, with Mito bobbing her head up and down with enough force and energy to snap an ordinary person's neck. She then ran out of the room, and presumably to her own, before returning with several pieces of paper. Sheer glee was evident on her face when she extended the papers toward him big sister, likely with the intention of having them critiqued.

Pretending to look upon the works of art with a critical gaze, Izumi found herself incredibly amused as she flipped through each one. As expected, they were all pretty similar in style, with bright colors and crudely drawn figures and objects. Most involved a spiky-haired blond boy, who was very obviously Naruto, doing all sorts of activities with a much shorter red-headed girl.

"Hmm, very nice. I particularly like the detail in the drawings. They're so lifelike."

Mito grinned before cockily crossing her arms, "Right? They're pretty awesome," she responded casually, as if she was already aware of how amazing her drawings were.

"But I couldn't help but notice that Sasuke isn't in any of these," Izumi commented, playfully. "Where was he when you and Naruto were having all of this fun?"

As expected, Mito scoffed haughtily, "He's too much of a baby to play with us," she explained. "He'd probably just pee his pants or something if he came along, and we'd have to take him all the way back home to change his diaper."

The door to Izumi's room suddenly burst open, with an enraged-looking Sasuke stomping in; it was clear that he had been eavesdropping on their entire conversation, which was the reason Izumi had brought his name up in the first place. His presence was quite easy to detect, even when he was trying to be stealthy.

"What was that you just said, crybaby?" he growled, getting into Mito's face.

Aghast at being branded with arguably the most heinous of childish insults, Mito snapped back at Sasuke, sparking an argument that Izumi couldn't bring herself to listen to. While their innocence was without a doubt refreshing, their spats were about as irritating a screeching metal. Even someone with her patience needed a break every once in a while.

All it took was a bit of stealth, and she was out of the house without them even knowing that she had left.

(Minutes Later)

Sitting atop the Hokage Stone Faces was about as far away from prying eyes that one could get without actually leaving the village. When choosing which Hokage head she wished to sit on, she chose the Fourth, which was a natural choice due to her relationship with Naruto.

Gazing out upon the village she thought about everything that she had come to believe over the course of her admittedly brief life. Her goal had always been to play at least some role in maintaining the peace that so many of her fellow shinobi had died creating, but now she was beginning to wonder if she was even capable of affecting anything at all. That masked man...he was so powerful. If he desired to kill Sasuke or Mito or harm the village, she'd be unable to stop him.

It would be foolish to assume that there weren't others out there like him, perhaps even those that could boast a superior level of strength. The Raikage immediately came to mind. That man had been beating the drums of war for quite some time now, and after audacious move after audacious move, it was becoming progressively more apparent that the conflict he desired was inevitable.

People like him and the masked man, they were among the few types of individuals that she held disdain for. In her eyes, those who had strength were not meant to create violence and conflict, but rather, they were gifted with the talent to use their gifts to fight for the greater good. If she was honest, she felt that their power was being wasted on them.

"Sitting on the First Hokage's stone head would be much more comfortable. My father had very spiky hair, so the top of his stone head is quite jagged," a familiar voice suddenly said from behind her.

Izumi couldn't help but smile upon hearing the voice. Even without seeing Naruto's face, just listening to him speak, feeling his chakra and knowing that he was there was enough to create a soothing sensation that enveloped her entire being.

She turned to face him, "I'm glad that you returned safely, Naruto," she greeted, before shifting over a bit so he could sit next to her.

He accepted the unspoken invitation and slowly lowered himself down next to her. As he did, she subconsciously activated her new Sharingan when she noticed something off about him. He was favoring his side a bit, as if he had been injured in some way or another. His face showed little in the form of pain, but this was Naruto that she was thinking about. He could handle anything in stride.

"You're injured," she remarked as casually as she could.

Naruto didn't even so much as look in her direction as he spoke, "And you have a set of new eyes."

Leave it to Naruto to be the first to notice the change in her eyes. To be fair, she had been careful to hide it from anyone that she knew up to this point. It was just another sign that Naruto truly was the person that she was most comfortable around. With him, she didn't feel the need to hide anything that she hid in front of others.

"How did it happen?"

Upon hearing the question, her eyes reverted to their normal onyx color, and she appeared to have a faraway gaze, as if recalling a memory that was buried within the confines of her mind.

"Tenma was killed on my last mission."

There was no immediate response from Naruto, which was unsurprising since he was always the type to think over his words carefully before speaking. Or maybe he just did it for dramatic effect? The ludicrousness of the thought nearly made her chuckle. After all, Naruto was anything but theatric.

Then, he finally spoke, "What do you want to do?" he asked.

It didn't take more than a second for her to respond.

"I want to become stronger, so that my dreams will cease to be mere dreams."

She turned to face him, only to discover that he was already staring at her, intently. His Sharingan was activated, each with three tomoe. He had achieved it, the full evolution of the dojutsu. He was probably far more powerful than he had been last time they saw each other.

He placed his hand on her back in a comforting gesture, "We have plenty of time to make that happen," he responded. "Right now were are comfortably residing within the calm before the storm."

"I will give it my all," she assured with a smile. "I promise."

* * *

(Three Years Later)

"I-I won't say anything! You're wasting your time, so just please let me go!"

Naruto, now taller and more matured, was leaning casually against a tree as he watched the interrogation taking place before him. The victim, a Kumogakure shinobi, whose headband was currently being used as a blindfold to inhibit his sight, was bound tightly to a tree with ninja-wire. His shirt had been removed, and there were several cuts littering his arms and upper body. Kneeled before him, was Toneri, who was wielding a bloodied kunai.

"Come now, you understand your predicament," Toneri said matter of factly. "We already know where your people are camped out. We just need some more details, so please relinquish the intel willingly. I grow weary of cutting you."

Seated not to far behind Toneri was another Konoha shinobi with unruly black hair and equally black eyes, who was looking as if he was on the precipice of falling asleep out of sheer boredom. He was sitting crisscross on the grass, with his chin was resting in his palm, his expression deadpan as he watched Toneri's continuous failed attempts at interrogation.

"Come on, man," he complained. "It's clearly not working. How about you just let me use my genjutsu to loosen his tongue?"

Toneri stood up and turned to face his complaining teammate, "Very well," he relented, while cleaning the blood from his kunai with a cloth. "However, Shisui, make sure to incapacitate him after you've finished."

Shisui scoffed, "My original plan was to let him run off to warn his people after I finished...but now that you mention it, knocking him out seems like a pretty good idea," he remarked sarcastically before approaching the captured shinobi, his Sharingan active and ready for use.

Naruto sighed and pushed himself off the tree, "Wrap this up and use the genjutsu already, or I will," he requested, with his own Sharingan gleaming in the dark.

With a roll of the eyes, Shisui kneeled down before the prisoner and removed the headband that was covering the man's eyes. The man blinked, his vision without a doubt acclimating to having just reclaimed sight. Upon looking at his captures, his eyes widened in fear as he looked at Shisui.

"Y-You're Shisui Uchiha," he muttered to himself, clearly fearful of Shisui's reputation.

Being a bit older than Naruto, by a handful of years, Shisui was an amazing prodigy in his own right, with him being hailed as one of the most talented fighters in the history of the Uchiha clan. His use of genjutsu was unmatched, as was his prowess with the shunshin jutsu, granting him various nicknames such as Shisui the Teleporter and Shisui of the Mirage.

"Yeah, I am...now hold still," Shisui responded before finally making eye contact.

Immediately, the prisoner's eyes glazed over and his body seized. He then proceeded to spill his guts against his will, his voice monotone due to the genjutsu. He muttered about one camp, with sixty men, who had covertly passed over the border not even twenty-four hours ago.

"Hmm, well that confirms the intel that Izumi so graciously provided," Shisui mumbled before knocking the prisoner out and binding his hands and feet. "But at least now we know how many there are."

Roughly sixty enemy shinobi...and the Raikage would have likely only sent his most skilled men on such an important mission. They were hidden well, and had managed to pass over the border of the Land of Hot Water without being detected. It was only due to Danzo's paranoia that they were discovered, as he had his own Anbu constantly monitoring the Land of Fire and all the minor nations surrounding it.

"Our original plan will still work just fine," Naruto said. "Toneri will advance and rendezvous with Izumi to eliminate the target while Shisui and I occupy the enemy's attention."

Toneri nodded, before forming a single hand seal, "Chameleon Jutsu."

Immediately after, his body appeared to turn invisible. A versatile technique indeed, the Chameleon Jutsu allowed a person to manipulate the way light was reflected off of their body, using chakra inflection. Perceiving the user's position was possible only for ninja who were astute enough to observe minute variations within their surrounding environment, such as distortions of air currents in the immediate vicinity or distinguishing sounds. Of course, however, it was also useless against perceptive dojutsu abilities, such as the Sharingan and Byakugan.

Able to see him clearly as day due to their Sharingan eyes allowing them to see his chakra, Naruto and Shisui watched Toneri leap into the direction of the camps without a word. He was by far the most adept at stealth and infiltration between the three of them, due to his various jutsu and the x-ray, 360-degree vision provided by his Byakugan, as well as his sublime chakra control, allowing him to only be sensed by the most elite sensory shinobi.

The two waited for a few minutes before advancing as well. They'd attack the camp directly, distracting the occupants so that Izumi and Toneri could actually complete the real mission, which was to eliminate a defector that had fled the village with critical intel, hoping to sell it to the Raikage for a profit.

"How long has it been since we last saw Izumi, a month?" Shisui asked while scratching his cheek.

Naruto kept his vision ahead as he and his comrade weaved through the trees, "A month and seven days, actually," he corrected. "She's been tracking the defector for quite some time."

Shisui grinned and made kissing noises in an attempt to get under Naruto's skin, "Aw, counting the days since your little girlfriend left on her mission?"

"Izumi and I are merely friends," Naruto retorted calmly.

All he earned in response was a scoff, "Yeah, sure. Keeping telling yourself that."

Naruto could only sigh. It was pointless to argue with Shisui, so he just kept quiet as they continued on.

* * *

Izumi quietly chewed on a food pill as she observed the enemy camp from a safe distance, perched in a tree. Based on the most recent message she had received from Naruto, Toneri would meet her at her current position to assist with the elimination of the defector. If things went smoothly, this mission wouldn't be all that difficult.

"Hello, Toneri," she suddenly said out of the blue, able to see the stealthy Byakugan user with the assistance of her Sharingan.

When she had discovered that Toneri and Naruto had actually become friends after the latter's trip to Uzushiogakure, she was admittedly surprised. They two boys had most definitely started off on the wrong foot when they first met, but apparently, if not for Toneri, Naruto would have died in the ruins of his ancestral home. It made sense that they would form a bond after something like that.

"Izumi Uchiha, it has been a while," Toneri responded on the branch next to her, though he refrained from deactivating his jutsu, leaving him to still be invisible to the naked eye. "Are you ready to advance?"

She nodded in response before bursting into a flock of crows. The crows then flew toward the camp, making sure to stay quiet and fly in the shadows of the night. Toneri's approach was much more straightforward, with him merely running toward the camp with no fear of being spotted.

Once the crows reached the perimeter, they formed together, and Izumi appeared once more. She waited until she felt Toneri at her side before she led the way into the camp. Most of the Kumo shinobi were already sleeping in their tents; however, the target was currently being held within the main tent at the center of the camp, and it was surrounded by alert enemies. Getting to the target under their current circumstances would be impossible.

Izumi made a set of hand signals to Toneri, which roughly translated to, 'We wait for comrades.' He seemed to understand what she meant because he stopped moving and waited at her side until Naruto and Shisui appeared to create the diversion.

The signal that the proverbial calvary had arrived was when a massive fireball roared through the camp, carrying away and incinerating many tents in its wake. The display achieved the desired result, with the Kumogakure shinobi shifting all of their attention to whoever was responsible, even at the cost of neglecting their duty to guard the valued defector.

After waiting another moment, Izumi raised her hand in a signal to continue, and the two slowly made it to the camp, keeping low and staying in the shadows as much as possible. In the distance, they heard enemy shinobi shouting in panic, as well as sounds of combat and death.

At one point, a Kumogakure shinobi nearly spotted them but was instantly killed by Shisui, who appeared and disappeared just as quickly with a shunshin. His mastery of the jutsu was truly astounding, and even during such a critical mission Izumi could not help but find herself in a bit of awe...but only for a brief moment.

Naruto and Shisui made things incredibly easy. Due to the clear danger that they both presented, even the guards who had been surrounding the tent left their posts to try and help fend them off. Just like that, they were crouched in front of the tent, mere feet away from reaching the target that Izumi had been perusing for weeks.

After it had become known that a traitor had stolen secret intel and escaped over the village walls under cover of the night, many had been surprised when the Hokage had chosen Izumi to pursue him. Most were under the assumption that he would have chosen Kakashi Hatake, and questioned whether a child could get the mission done. Now was the time to prove them wrong.

"He is inside, I see him," Toneri whispered.

Not even a second after he let the words flow from his mouth, Izumi was in the tent with a blade piercing through the defector's chest. She made sure to get it done quickly and cleanly, and took no pleasure in the act itself. Murder had always been something that she wasn't quite fond of, but she was also mature enough to admit that it was something required of her.

"It is fitting that you did the deed," Toneri said from behind her as he entered the tent through the front flaps. "You alert the others while I dispose of the body."

Not needed to be told twice, Izumi exited the tent before weaving through a familiar string of hand seals and unleashing a massive ball of flames into the night sky. She waited for Toneri to finish his work before leaping back into the darkness once more in the direction of the rendezvous point. In total, the mission had taken only five minutes.

* * *

"I'm 99% sure that I took out more of them than you did, Naruto," Shisui bragged as he and the younger blonde finally made it to the rendezvous point.

They were both greeted with a roaring fire, courtesy of Izumi and Toneri, who had both taken the initiative and prepared a camp for the night while they waited for their comrades to return. Predictably, Naruto and Shisui had taken a bit longer to finish their portion of the mission, since they needed to escape the battle at the camp and make sure that they weren't being followed.

Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "I wasn't counting how many I defeated."

Shisui's ever-present grin only widened even further, "You're only saying that because you know I beat more than you did."

Compared to most other members of the Uchiha clan, Shisui was undoubtedly an oddball. While most Uchiha were quiet, he was rather expressive, and he also had a great sense of humor (though Naruto would likely comment that 'great' was a subjective term, considering how much Shisui tried to get under his skin) which made him very pleasant to be around. So basically, he was the complete opposite of Fugaku.

"You guys sure took a long time," Toneri greeted with a smile. "By my estimation, it took you thirty minutes to shake the enemy off of your trail."

Naruto sat down next to Izumi, and Shisui plopped down at the other end of the fire. The flames of the fire flickered almost violently due to the force of the wind, which created many intriguing shadows in the forest. Without a doubt, one could get lost in observing their beauty for hours.

"Those guys were relentless," Shisui complained in response. "Probably because they were so embarrassed at being outclassed."

Naruto glared in his comrade's direction, "Or perhaps it is because you insisted on taunting them as they pursued us?"

Shisui raised his arms in a defensive fashion, "What's the point of doing this job if you can't find a way to enjoy it every once in a while?"

Funny enough, nobody voiced any sort of disagreement, and they each sat silently, staring at the fire. At that moment, Izumi subtly glanced in Naruto's direction, making sure not to be seen by anyone else. He had grown quite a bit over the past three years, but he still stood at an average size for an eleven-year-old. His hair remained mostly the same, but his face had become more angular, leading to him appearing quite handsome.

Izumi herself had grown quite a bit as well, looking more and more like her mother every day. Her hair had increased in length and was now tied into a ponytail that reached the center of her back. At this point, the only thing that prevented her from looking like a mini-clone of her mother was the long, pronounced tear-troughs under her eyes.

Hours passed, and it was eventually just Naruto and Izumi who remained awake, with Shisui being the first to succumb to his exhaustion and Toneri falling not too far behind. Izumi would be lying if she said that she wasn't happy that she and Naruto had been granted this brief time alone with each other. After a month apart, she felt that it was very much needed.

"Can I ask you something, Naruto?" Izumi spoke up in a subdued tone, being sure not to wake the others up.

Naruto, from his relaxed position in front of the fire, looked toward her inquisitively and nodded. For whatever reason, Izumi found herself short for words as she contemplated the best way to ask her closest friend something that she had been meaning to ask him for quite some time.

"What do you think it means to be a shinobi?" she asked, recalling the question she had asked herself long ago as a child.

The randomness of the question caught Naruto a bit off guard, but nevertheless, he looked back toward the fire in contemplation. As he did, Izumi patiently waited, wondering what his answer would be. She often wondered if people thought about these kinds of things as well. What did it mean to be alive? What was a shinobi? What was a village? These were all things she had been wondering since childhood.

"A shinobi...is someone who endures, and has the will to never give up no matter what adversity they are faced with," Naruto responded.

Izumi smiled softly, finding his interpretation to be both beautiful and accurate. It honestly sounded like something that someone could find in a piece of poetry, which was ironic since it came from the mouth of someone that was notorious for rarely speaking.

"That sounds like you, Naruto," she complimented with a smile. "You embody all of those characteristics."

Izumi heard a soft chuckle next to her and saw Naruto looking as amused as she had ever seen him before, which was saying a lot. She was enraptured by the sound of his laugh and the radiance of his smile. It was a far cry from the look he usually gave off, with his emotions concealed and eyes hiding deep seeded pain. Right now, at this moment, he wasn't hiding anything at all.

"Actually, I was thinking of you when I gave my answer," he confessed, causing Izumi's eyes to widen in surprise. "Nobody represents the ideal shinobi better than you."

For perhaps the first time in her life, Izumi found herself blushing. As a prodigious talent, she had spent all of her life being praised by others, which essentially made her immune to being flustered by compliments; however, hearing something so genuinely touching from the person that she cared for the most in this world...well...it made her feel a way that she had never felt before.

Thankfully, the shadows created by the fire hid enough to where Naruto didn't notice...or maybe he did catch a glimpse of her vulnerable moment and refused to comment? In all honesty, she would prefer to think that it was the former, but the later was equally, if not more likely.

Suddenly, and without thinking, Izumi placed her right hand on top of Naruto's left. If someone could have asked her what overtook her at that moment, she honestly wouldn't have had an answer for them. It just felt...right, if that made any sense.

Naruto didn't outright react to the gesture as he continued to stare at the fire. No words were said, which was good since they would have only interrupted the moment. At first, his lack of reaction made Izumi feel incredibly nervous. What was he thinking? Was he confused by the gesture?

As if he could hear her thoughts, Naruto turned toward her and smiled, making no move to remove her hand from his own. At that moment, she knew that she had made the right choice.

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry for the long wait for this update, but I've honestly been experiencing a bit writer's block for this story. Also, I've been working on two other stories as well, both of which I intend to post on this account eventually, so be ready for that.**

 **In all honesty, I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but I hope that you guys enjoy it. I feel like the time skip may seem a bit sudden or out of place, but it really needed to happen for me to advance the story the way that I wanted to. Furthermore, I also feel that the pacing may be really off. However, I also thought that the 'Toneri Gaiden' chapter was terrible as well, and you guys seemed to like it quite a bit, so I hope you feel the same about this one.**

 **Thank you all for your continued support.**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Nine~**

* * *

" **Promotions All Round"**

The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, more commonly referred to as Anbu, was a special assassination and tactical squad of capable, covert operatives dispatched by the Hokage himself. They were the elite of the elite, dealing in only high-risk missions consisting of A-Rank or even S-Rank difficulty level tasks.

Recruitment into the Anbu was not at all based on rank or experience, but rather, entirely on the merit and skill of the prospect. However, a prospect's abilities weren't the only factors taken into consideration. Due to the darkness involved in an Anbu's career, one's personality also determined their eligibility. They worked in the darkness to protect those that resided in the light; such was their duty.

The Hokage, along with his trusted advisors, Danzo, Koharu, and Hamura, were currently locked in a discussion pertaining to the newest list of possible Anbu recruits. The debate stemmed from the two final remaining names, each which had been proposed by Danzo himself, which was a rare occurrence indeed.

"To recommend that two children so young be inducted into the Anbu...such a proposal would be unprecedented," Koharu voiced with skepticism.

Danzo remained stoic as always, even when having his judgment questioned, "They are not ordinary children," he countered. "I personally have overseen the development of the boy. Having him serve anywhere other than the Anbu would be a waste of his talents. He and the girl both would benefit the village most there."

Koharu's face grew pensive as she contemplated her old comrade's words while Homura remained quiet, preferring to gauge the reactions of the others before making his own decision. The Hokage, however, seemed almost relaxed, as if he was unconcerned with what was going on.

"Naruto Uzumaki is the honorable son of our Fourth Hokage," Homura finally spoke up after realizing nobody else intended to speak. "Would being placed in such a dangerous position at so young an age truly be what his father would have wanted for him?"

If Danzo were less concerned with concealing his thoughts and emotions, he would have scoffed. In this room, where everyday decisions were made that would affect the future of the village for years, there was no room for such foolish sentimentality. In his eyes, Naruto wasn't the son of their village's greatest hero, he was, like all shinobi, an asset...and assets were used, not protected.

"And what of the girl?" Koharu chimed in. "With tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan being as high as they are, would it truly be wise to place her in a position where she will be granted access to classified information?"

Her words were difficult to argue against. With every year that went by, the Uchiha clan's ties to the village became weaker and weaker. Their clansmen became more and more reclusive, staying within the confines of the Uchiha District, and the Police Force, headed by Fugaku, was losing the trust of the village's populace as a whole.

"Izumi Uchiha can be trusted," Hiruzen interjected, speaking for the first time in quite a while. "That child is capable of seeing the bigger picture already. Her mind operates far beyond its years."

Danzo nodded in agreement, "And the boy is arguably even sharper," he said, once more attesting to his student's prowess. "I can assure you, that in the history of our village, no shinobi has been born with more potential. He must be given the opportunity to gain more experience."

Koharu and Homura both found their eyes widening immediately after hearing his words. Danzo was not one for exaggeration or hyperbole, if he said something he meant it. To listen to him so utterly confident in the potential of this young boy was astounding. In all honesty, for them, it was enough to erase any of their doubts. If Danzo vouched for him, then he was ready.

"Ultimately, the decision is yours, Hiruzen," Homura continued, deciding that they put an end to the debate once and for all.

Hiruzen remained silent as he appeared to smoke his pipe contemplatively. In truth, his decision had been made before the whole argument had even begun. Naruto and Izumi would be inducted into the Anbu. They possessed the necessary prowess, and their skills would be best put to use serving their village within the shadows.

"I agree with Danzo's proposal," he concluded. "Naruto Uzumaki and Izumi Uchiha will be recruited into the Anbu Black Ops."

While the decision didn't leave anyone jumping for joy, Danzo was pleased with how things turned out. Without another word, he slowly rose to his feet before making the slow journey out of the office. As he exited, the rhythmic tapping of his cane could be heard moving down the hall.

"Danzo would never push forth a proposal unless he has his own agenda, Hiruzen," Koharu warned as she too prepared to leave. "You of all people should know that by now."

With that, the last of the three advisors left the room, leaving Hiruzen alone to continue smoking his pipe in peace. Silence reigned for quite a while as the Hokage appeared to use this opportunity to get some well-earned relaxation. His job had been more stressful than ever as of late, which could mostly be attributed the growing threats to the village, both inside and out.

"What do you think, Kakashi?" he suddenly asked out of the blue.

As soon as he spoke, a figure appeared before him in a kneeling position. He wore the standard Anbu attire, which included a porcelain mask that concealed his identity, though his spiky silver hair was still entirely visible. Now in the presence of his leader, he removed the mask, revealing his facial features, which, oddly enough, were still mostly hidden from view.

His right eye was black, and for the most part, he would be described as having a relaxed, heavy-lidded expression. There was a vertical scar over his left eye, alluding to a past injury of some kind, and he kept it closed for the most part. This, combined with a mask he used to cover the lower half of his face, prevented the majority of his appearance from being seen.

"They are both so young, Lord Hokage," Kakashi remarked, voicing his skepticism while also remaining as respectful as possible.

Hiruzen chuckled, "As were you when you became a genin...and a chunin...and a jonin," he joked. "If I'm not mistaken, you were the youngest in the history of our village for all three of those instances. You of all people should understand that age should not factor into one's rank, only ability."

"I suppose so," Kakashi relented, though it was clear that he was still iffy on the idea. Still, at the end of the day, it was not up to him.

"Izumi Uchiha will be filling the vacant spot on your squad," Hiruzen continued.

Kakashi's brows raised slightly, "And where will Naruto be assigned?"

Hiruzen smiled as he thought of his plans for Naruto. Yes...it was the perfect fit for him.

"Well, you see..."

* * *

Naruto and Izumi both remained silent as they descended the steps to the subterranean base which served as the headquarters of the Konoha Anbu Black Ops. There was no guided tour of any kind, and they were merely informed of where they would need to go. First, they would retrieve their equipment from the armory before going to their individual assignments.

"I sense a presence ahead. We must be reaching the bottom soon," Izumi observed. Naruto sensed it too, and they were quickly proven correct when the steps finally came to an end, and they found the armory, which was identifiable by a fluorescent sign.

There was a lone Anbu manning the weapon storage lockers, and he was protected behind a set of steel bars, with only a single slot for him to pass on whatever was being requested. It could be inferred that operatives could fill out requests for any equipment they needed should theirs need replacing, and it would be provided to them.

Naruto and Izumi approached the armory, and without so much as a word of greeting, the man slid two trays through the opening. The first was given to Izumi, and the second was passed along to Naruto. Each tray contained a porcelain mask with a unique design painted on it, and the standard set of Konoha Anbu armor, as well as a tanto.

"Here's your equipment," the Anbu drawled, his voice as monotone as one would expect.

Izumi nodded in appreciation, "Thank you very much," she said before they both turned around and made their way toward the lockers rooms.

They walked down a dimly lit hallway and passed several doorways. Each room contained the lockers for a respective squad and was where each member would change in and out of their uniforms before and after missions. It was also the only location in which operatives were allowed to use their real names when communicating with one another.

Eventually, the reached a door with the kanji for Ro labeled above. Izumi suddenly came to an abrupt stop, which told Naruto that she had finally reached her assignment.

"This is my squad's locker room," she explained before giving Naruto a small smile. "Wish me luck."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment before continuing on without a word. Behind him, he heard the door open, and Izumi offer a brief greeting before it closed behind her, trapping all sound inside. He smiled slightly to himself as he continued to lug his equipment to his intended destination. Izumi was always so polite when meeting new people. Even without knowing of her talent, most instantly admired her due to how well she treated others.

Much like the stairs leading to the hidden base, the hallway seemed to go on forever, and Naruto's eyes narrowed before shifting into his Sharingan. After doing so, he quickly realized that something was amiss, and made the slightest fluctuation in his chakra to break free of the subtle genjutsu that had been placed on him. When he did, he noticed a presence behind him.

There was a lone Anbu that seemed to have been following him. He was wearing a dark, hooded cloak over his armor, so only his mask and sandals were visible. He stood ominously in the shadows, not uttering a single word, seemingly preferring to stare at Naruto eerily.

"Welcome to the Anbu, Naruto Uzumaki. I hope that you are ready to experience pain...the likes of which you could have never envisioned in your worst nightmares," the man said in a grave tone, though in reality, it came off more as someone pathetically attempting to change their voice to make it sound more intimidating.

Naruto's sighed, "Is that you, Shisui?"

The Anbu froze in place, "N-No. Who is this 'Shisui' you speak of?"

"I can sense your chakra, you know?" Naruto continued.

"...damnit."

* * *

(Some Time Later)

"So, Lord Hokage placed me on a team with you?" Naruto remarked as he and Shisui stood next to each other at the edge of the Naka River. "I was unaware that you were in the Anbu."

After putting on his new gear, much of Naruto's appearance was left to the imagination. Like all other Anbu, his attire consisted of a black, sleeveless, skintight turtleneck shirt, a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards with gloves, ninja sandals with barely visible spikes for traveling into mountainous regions, three pouches on his back-waist and a signature red spiral tattoo on his left shoulder. In addition, he also wore his new tanto strapped on his back.

His face was also hidden by his new porcelain mask, with red painted on designs which depicted what appeared to be a fox. There was even a slight protrusion for the snout, a set of pointed ears, as well as two circular eyeholes, through which his Sharingan could be seen.

"Yeah, normally I work highly classified missions, so I rarely talk about it," Shisui responded casually, dressed identically to Naruto, though he opted to wear the Uchiha style short-sleeved, high-collared shirt under his grey flack jacket rather than the standard sleeveless turtleneck. His mask depicted a raven, including a fairly long protrusion for the beak.

Naruto nodded, "Which codenames will we use to refer to one another when we are on duty?"

Shisui turned to face him, and Naruto was confident that behind his mask he was grinning, "You will call me Crow, and I will call you Fox. Is that acceptable for you?"

Fox...Naruto was beginning to wonder if the Hokage was playing some kind of joke on him. Were he a lesser man he would have been greatly offended, having to essentially bear a likeness to the beast that wrecked havoc on his village, killed his parents, and now painted an enormous target over his sister's head.

"I was young when my father's health began to decline," Shisui spoke up out of the blue, staring down at his reflection in the river. "And one day, I snuck out into the woods in frustration and was practically assaulted by a murder of crows, resulting in me losing my footing and falling into a ravine. I very nearly died, and for a while, I was terrified of those crows, and was always afraid of training in the woods."

Naruto glanced toward his friend. He already had a pretty good idea about what he was getting at, but he was going to let him finish before chiming in. It was the polite thing to do, after all.

"A few months later, I became sick of being afraid, and returned to the place where I had been attacked," Shisui continued before looking away from the water and directly into Naruto's eyes. "The crows surrounded me once more, however this time, I refused to move or be afraid. I embraced what had once caused me trauma in my past, and now, I bear the likeness of a crow on my mask, and have a summoning contract with the very crows that attacked me."

Naruto responded after a moment of thought, "I am not afraid of the Kyuubi, nor do I hate it. It is a force of destructive nature that was momentarily released from its prison. The result was to be expected."

Shisui shook his head, "It is not the Kyuubi that haunts you, but rather, the event that it represents," he explained. "That night you lost so much, and while you are adept at hiding your pain from others, the weight that you carry on your shoulders is as clear as day to me."

While he presented himself as rather laidback and carefree, Shisui was far from a fool. In fact, Naruto was entirely confident in the fact that his friend was every bit as intelligent as he was. Shisui's genius extended far beyond a talent for the shinobi arts, granting him the ability to perceive things most people couldn't notice, as well as tackle issues that most would sweep away under the rug.

Shisui then closed the distance between them and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You're good at fooling yourself. That's why you can't grasp your true feelings. Never forget what you lost, but don't allow it to continue making you miserable," he advised. "That's why I made the request to Lord Hokage that your mask and codename be what they are."

Naruto nodded resolutely, "I understand. I will have a lot to think about now. Thank you."

Upon realizing that his little speech had actually worked, Shisui practically glowed, no doubt with a toothy grin concealed behind his mask. If there was one thing that Shisui loved above all else, it was helping people that were in need. In fact, the very first time they met one another was when Shisui decided to help him in his training. They'd been training partners ever since.

"Have you spoken with Toneri since your promotion?" Shisui asked, changing the subject.

Naruto nodded. He always made sure to keep in close contact with his teammate and friend. Toneri, along with Shisui, was without a doubt Naruto's closest friend; outside of Izumi, of course. Though, admittedly, his relationship with her was a bit more...difficult to define.

"He is happy for me," Naruto explained. "Apparently, he received a similar offer to become one of Danzo-sensei's personal Anbu. Apparently, he still hasn't decided on whether or not he'll accept."

Team One, otherwise known as Team Danzo, had a strange tenure, to say the least. They were arguably the least active of all the genin teams from their graduating class, as they focused more on training and battle simulations than actual missions.

Hana got a bit left behind though when their opportunity to take the Chunin Exams came around. Naruto and Toneri felt that they were ready, but Hana felt that she wasn't as prepared as her teammates, so she opted to sit out. In the end, it all worked out since Izumi was without a team for the exam, so she took Hana's place and the three passed the exam with flying colors.

After that, Team One stayed together for a while, until Hana started working as a veterinary medical-nin, essentially retiring from the team. Naruto still kept in touch with her and was pleased to hear that she was much happier in her new job, preferring helping animals over combat. However, needless to say, Danzo-sensei was not pleased.

Shisui scoffed behind his mask, "If I were him, I'd stay away from that creepy old fart and his private army," he chimed in, before quickly tensing up. "I mean, no offense...you know, since he was your sensei and all."

Naruto shook his head, "It's okay. I don't have the highest opinion of him either," he clarified. "While we fight for the same goal, I find myself questioning his methods and motivations."

With a tilt of the head, Shisui responded, "Care to go into detail?" he asked.

"I believe that he truly wants what is best for the village," Naruto elaborated after pausing in thought. "However, he is unable to trust others, and therefore, wrongfully believes that he is the only person that can protect Konoha and lead it to prosperity. I think that such a mindset is incredibly dangerous, especially when the person has the resources that Danzo-sensei possesses."

Shisui nodded in agreement, "People like that are willing to do anything to reach their goals," he said. "When you think that you're advancing toward the greater good, anything you do feels justified...especially when you're a cynical narcissist like him."

A new voice behind them chuckled. "Cynical narcissist, eh? That's a good one."

Before the intruder had even finished their sentence Naruto and Shisui were standing meters away, atop the river's surface, tantos drawn and ready to fight; however, their efforts were quickly proven to be pointless. Why? Because the Hokage himself was standing before them, conical hat and all.

"Lord Hokage," they both greeted respectfully before bowing. Secretly, however, they were wracking their brains. They couldn't feel his chakra or presence at all.

The Hokage smiled, "Pardon my intrusion, but I couldn't help but find myself captivated by your conversation. Especially at the mention of your backstory about the crows, Shisui. I nearly shed a tear."

Shisui's shoulders slumped in embarrassment while Naruto's tensed. Something didn't feel right, leaving him completely on edge.

"Where are you really, Lord Hokage?" Naruto asked.

The old man actually seemed more pleased than put off at being caught, "In my office, enjoying my pipe and a good book."

"Is it one of the Icha Icha novels?" Shisui asked, perking up instantly. Now it was the Hokage's turn to appear embarrassed, in fear of being outed to his village as a pervert. However, his secret seemed to be safe with Shisui, who pulled a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, revealing himself to also be a fan.

After getting over the fact that two of the people he respected the most were fans of his godfather's erotic novels, Naruto focused his Sharingan on the Hokage, and noticed something incredible. He was intangible and made entirely of chakra. It was as if the Hokage was standing before them...and yet, he wasn't.

"I see that you are impressed by my usage of the astral projection jutsu, Naruto," the Hokage commented with a knowing smile. "With it, I can appear anywhere within the village, relatively undetected."

Naruto was left criticizing himself as the Hokage finally revealed the mystery behind his appearance. Of course, the figure standing before them was a projection! It was a relatively obscure jutsu with incredible versatility, but it was also very limited. One could only project their image to a place that was familiar to them, and they were also required to be within a reasonable distance.

Shisui crossed his arms and nodded sagely, "I understand completely," he stated, showing that he had knowledge of the jutsu as well. "It's a pervert's dream jutsu, allowing one to spy on women undetected."

How true. Naruto didn't want to imagine a world where Jiraiya-sensei knew such a jutsu. No women would be safe from his perverted gaze. In fact, the very idea of him peaking on someone like Lady Mikoto made Naruto feel very uncomfortable.

The Hokage laughed uproariously at Shisui's observation, "If only I had the time to use it in such a manner," he commented, with his cheeks gaining a bit of a red hue. "Though come to think of it, I am free every Friday afternoon..."

"Lord Hokage," Naruto interrupted before one of his idols could embarrass himself any further. "Surely you have a purpose for speaking with us."

The Hokage instantly shifted into the state which Naruto was most familiar with, that of the calm, wise leader. Shisui noticed this sharp change as well, as he just as quickly straightened his posture. It then became clear to them that the Hokage would only go out of his way to speak with them if it was something serious.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and placed his arms behind his back, "As of this moment, especially after hearing your words, I consider you two to be among my most skilled and trusted subordinates," he confessed. "Which is why, when presented with as daunting a task as the one I am about to give you, I only feel validated in my initial belief that you are indeed the most qualified for this mission."

The world and even time itself seemed to freeze as they waited on is every word.

"That is why I must ask that you infiltrate Kumogakure no Sato...and deliver a message to our friend the Raikage."

* * *

The day before a mission. Days like these were always the most simplistic, and by extension, the most enjoyable. It was less of a 'calm before the storm' and more of an opportunity to appreciate the things that he fought so fervently to protect. Sitting at the dinner table with his family, Izumi, Lady Mikoto, Mito, and Sasuke, he felt secure in what he was about to do in the coming days.

"So, Naruto, what does this mission of yours entail?" Mikoto asked after everyone had explained how their day had gone.

Naruto waited to swallow his food before responding, "I'm not allowed to discuss it any further than we already have, Lady Mikoto."

Mikoto hid her worry well and simply nodded before returning to her meal. Fugaku, on the other hand, noticed it clear as day, and very nearly sighed openly. His wife was as worrisome as they came, especially when it came to her children. The very thought made him frown as he continued eating. It was almost as if she expected them to be babies forever.

"Well, still, I'll need you to promise me that you'll stay out of trouble and keep safe. Understood?" Mikoto demanded with the authority of a parent. She had a bad feeling about this mission of his.

"Yes, ma'am. I will do my best."

His answer seemed to satisfy her, as the ever so slight tension in her shoulders quickly dissipated. For Naruto, lying to Mikoto was incredibly tricky. In reality, the risk involved in this mission was about as high as it got, and all it would take was one mistake for him and Shisui to perish...or worse, be captured by the enemy.

Fugaku placed his chopsticks on his plate and gave his wife a sideward glance, "The boy is an Anbu now, Mikoto. Have a little faith in his abilities and stop worrying yourself to death every time he leaves the village."

It was admittedly a bit weird hearing Fugaku openly express confidence in Naruto, yet, at the same time, it wasn't strange at all. While always a bit put off by his wife's insistence on making Naruto a fully fledged member of their family, he never once doubted Naruto's strength. In fact, there were likely few out there who knew more about how talented Naruto was than he did.

"I'm sorry for worrying about my son," Mikoto responded calmly, though her tone was slightly edged, like a knife.

Fugaku clenched his fist in an attempt to calm himself, "For the last time, woman. That boy is not your-"

At the last moment, he stopped himself...but the damage was mostly done. Naruto continued eating his meal as if nothing had happened, while Izumi merely stared at her plate silently. On the other hand, Mito and Sasuke looked incredibly uncomfortable, as if they'd rather be any place than they currently were.

"Go ahead and say it," Mikoto growled through clenched teeth.

This had all been years in the making, really. Fugaku was sick of his wife's strange desire to take on Minato and Kushina's boy as if he was her own. Mito was more understandable, since she was taken on as an infant. Mikoto raised her in the same was she did Izumi and Sasuke. But Naruto?

"Fine, I'll say it," he said, removing his napkin from his lap and placing it on the table. "Naruto is a guest in our home, and while his impact is felt by us all, it does not make him a part of our blood. He already possesses our eyes, is that not enough? Shall he take on our name as well?"

Mikoto was left speechless, and the entire kitchen was left completely silent. At this point, Mito was openly sniffling and doing her best to keep her tears from showing, and Sasuke was clenching his tiny fists underneath the table. Seeing this, Fugaku instantly felt regretful. He had allowed his stress to finally get to him, and said something he didn't really mean.

Naruto stood from his seat, being the first to pierce through the painful silence, "I have to begin preparations. Thank you for the meal, Lady Mikoto."

Without another word, he exited the kitchen, walked down the hall, and entered his room. That seemed to wake everyone up. Sasuke loudly pushed his chair back and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him with childish fury. Seeing Sasuke get so angry was the last straw for Mito, who began to openly bawl. Thankfully, Izumi was mindful enough to take the girl into her arms and bring her to her room.

And with that, only the man and the woman of the house remained.

"Are you happy now, Fugaku?" Mikoto snapped with crossed arms.

Predictably, her husband was conflicted in his response, "Of course not," he countered. "Now I'm a villain in my own home."

Finally, at the breaking point, Mikoto glared in a show of rage, "Then maybe you should take a long look at yourself and wonder why that is!"

The last thing Fugaku saw of his wife for the entire evening was her back as she stomped away to their room, closing the door roughly behind her. Any reasonable man would surely make the assumption that he'd be sleeping elsewhere for the evening, and Fugaku was about as reasonable as they came. Sighing in a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion, he got to work cleaning the dinner table, which was usually a task his wife undertook alone.

It made him appreciate her more than usual as he stared at the table before him. He hardly knew what to do with any of the leftovers, and it was quite daunting once he was reminded that he'd have to do this all on his own. Not a man to shy away from a challenge though, Fugaku got to work, starting with the most simple of tasks.

'How foolish I've been,' he thought to himself as he washed dishes for what felt like the first time in years.

For the longest time, he had been keeping his stress and anger bottled up inside, to the point where an eruption like tonight was only bound to happen eventually. Bearing the weight of the entire clan at a time in which relations with the village were at there worst ever...needless to say, he rarely slept.

Right as he grabbed a rag to dry a now freshly cleaned plate, he froze as he just now noticed a presence behind him. His mind raced as he wondered who it could be. His enraged wife? His genius of a daughter present to explain how much he had just screwed up? Or worst case scenario, one of the little ones begging to know why he hated their older brother so much?

After taking in a slow breath, he turned to face whatever it was he had coming to him. The climactic encounter never came to pass, however, as he looked upon a somewhat unexpected sight. His blonde charge was dutifully getting to work cleaning the table, placing leftovers into containers and stacking the dishes that needed to be cleaned.

"I'll clear the table while you clean the dishes, Lord Fugaku," Naruto said without looking in his direction.

At a loss for words, Fugaku quietly watched in awe as Naruto did what he pretty much always did...persevere through hardship and come out the bigger man. He could have locked himself away in his room and lamented about the fact that he still hadn't been accepted into the family, but he didn't. No...he came out to help the very man that continued to push him away. Upon seeing this, Fugaku had only one question.

"Why?" he asked, sounding far more stupefied than perhaps he had ever been in his entire life.

Naruto finally stopped cleaning and turned to face his legal guardian, his expression calm, far beyond his years. Fugaku would never get used to just how intelligent and mature this boy was. It left him reminded of what it had felt like watching Minato rise through the ranks during his early years.

"Because...when I had nothing and nowhere to go, you took me into your home and gave me a place to live," Naruto explained, almost as if it were obvious. "There will never be a day where I have finished paying you back for all that you've done for Mito and me. Helping you clean a kitchen table is the least that I can do."

Without another word, Naruto continued on his way to the refrigerator and stacked the first of the leftover food away before returning to collect the rest. After finally getting over his shock, Fugaku got back to work cleaning up the remaining dishes, and in no time at all, the due had completed the task in no time at all.

Once they were finished, the two stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. Now that they didn't have a chore occupying their attention, the underlying tension that had been permeating through the air was now on full blast. It was quite clear that Naruto didn't know whether he should stay or leave and that Fugaku was wracking his mind for something to say.

In the end, it was Naruto who silently cleared his throat first, "If that's all-"

"It's not," Fugaku interrupted, almost wearily. "Follow me, boy. It's about time we talked."

As he often did, Fugaku turned without any further instruction and walked toward the door, clearly intending for his charge to follow. While Naruto remained oblivious to what Fugaku's true intentions were, he felt no need to disobey him, so he was at his heels almost immediately as they both stepped out of the house and onto the porch.

The air was chilly and nipped at their skin, but they both paid it little mind as Fugaku leaned forward onto the railing and stared up at the starlit sky. While he waited patiently, Naruto also admired the sheer beauty of the cosmos, quickly recognizing several of the constellations he had used in the past to navigate through the world past the village walls.

"You represent everything in which I was brought up to despise, Naruto," Fugaku suddenly confessed, and in a rare instance, called Naruto by his name.

"I don't understand," Naruto responded simply.

Fugaku glared at nothing in particular, "You're an Uzumaki, which essentially makes you a Senju in all but name," he explained. "And you also have the Sharingan, the only thing the Uchiha clan still possesses that makes us worthy of any respect or prestige these days."

There was a hint of resentment within his tone, but it was clear to Naruto that none of it was directed toward him. No, Fugaku-sama was expressing disdain for the Senju, and the higher-ups of the village. This was years and years of pent up anger being released all at once.

"The one thing that made us different from everyone else, and the Senju now have it as well," he continued. "They took control of the village and boxed us away in the outskirts as if we were rabid animals in need of monitoring. And now...one of their descendants has awakened our eyes as well."

Everything was quickly becoming clear as Naruto listened to the pure truth being laid out before him. He actually straightened his posture as he listened to Fugaku list off all of the slights the Uchiha had faced since the Senju had taken control of the village decades ago. In a way, he felt guilty, even though he had no hand in any of it.

And then, Fugaku's glare...weakened?

"Yet despite my continued efforts, I cannot bring myself to hate you," he finished. "I took you into my home with the hopes that I could at least use you to my advantage. If the Senju would mock me from beyond the grave by granting their descendant the sacred dojutsu of my clan, then I would at the very least make use of him..."

At this point, Naruto couldn't bring himself to look away from the man who was currently pouring his entire soul into his words.

"...but despite my attempts to keep you at length, much like my wife, my son, and my daughter, you have become more to me than a mere guest," he finished, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. "I brought the enemy into my home, and now I cannot help but look upon him with pride...in a way that a father looks upon his own son."

Finally, Fugaku turned to face him.

"I don't know where this next mission of yours will take you; however I expect you to return home in one piece," he commented before walking past Naruto and back to the front door. "Your mother would be devastated if something were to happen to you."

Quick to compose himself, Naruto nodded resolutely without turning around, "I will return, Lord Fugaku."

The Uchiha patriarch hummed in acknowledgment before sliding the front door closed behind him as he likely went to get some much-needed sleep. It was likely that he'd find himself with a full nights rest for the first time in quite some time after finally getting so much off of his chest.

Naruto, on the other hand, felt as if a tsunami of powerful emotions had just swept him away, leaving him crumpled up and exhausted. Today had been trying, indeed, topped off by an evening of ruction. At this rate, he'd hardly be able to get himself out of bed in the morning. But still, he'd be lying if he said there wasn't a pleasant warmth exuding from his chest.

Acceptance...it felt good.

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Two updates in the same month? Will frequent updates become the norm once more? One can only hope, I guess.**

 **By the way, shout out to HorrificallyDreadful. For quite some time now, he's been someone that I've kept in touch with on this site. Together we've discussed ideas and helped each other out along the way. Please check out his stories, they're all brilliant, and I'm certain that you'll love them.**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Ten~**

* * *

" **Shisui of the Mirage"**

Kumogakure no Sato was a beautiful village to behold. Located in a range of towering mountains, with much of the buildings and structures built into the mountain edges, elevating them to the point where they actually reached the very clouds themselves. In that regard, the village very much lived up to its name.

Compared to Konoha, it was far more militaristic, imposing curfews on all citizens and having very few non-shinobi occupants. This allowed them to have a tremendous standing fighting force, but also led to their economy not being nearly as bustling as their forest dwelling rivals.

It was late evening when suddenly the sounds of people running throughout the streets, along with hurried shouting filled the air. Soon after, an alarm pierced through the entire village, waking everyone and putting all shinobi on edge. It was the emergency signal, which was something only activated whenever the village was under assault.

One of the village's elite shinobi, Darui, who had long been close with the Raikage and his family, was one of the first people alerted to the emergency. Apparently, much to the Raikage's humiliation, the village had been infiltrated, and the intruders were entirely unaccounted for, even after C attempted to sense them out.

"Whoever they are, they're skilled enough to use the chakra suppression jutsu," C commented as he and Darui stood atop one of the taller mountains in the area, granting them a good view of everything that was going on. It isolated them quite a bit from the rest of their comrades, giving them enough privacy to speak quietly as they waited.

Darui appeared more tired than usual as he rubbed his eyes, "Great, so you're saying that they can do whatever they please?"

C shook his head, "Not entirely. They're suppressing their chakra, so they can't use any ninjutsu or genjutsu; otherwise, they'll give themselves away. We'll just have to wait until they make a mistake, or are put in a position in which they are forced to reveal themselves. When that happens, I'll find them immediately."

Still a bit skeptical, Darui merely sighed before sitting down on the mountain edge. The action earned him a confused look from C, who immediately began wondering if there was something wrong with his old friend.

"Something bothering you?"

Darui shook his head before sighing, "You mean other than the fact that we're possibly facing a threat of invasion?"

"Yeah, other than that," C responded, almost knowingly.

With a sigh, Darui massaged his temples, a clear sign of his stress. It had to be difficult being the Raikage's right-hand man, especially during such turbulent times. The man who he had casually called his 'boss' for much of his life, had been changing drastically as of late. All of his actions were incredibly antagonistic, even when compared to Kumogakure's history of aggressive military objectives.

"Don't act like you haven't noticed it as well," Darui explained. "The boss...he's been acting strangely over the past few years. This is the first time that I've ever felt like I'm on the 'bad' side."

C crossed his arms and kept his gazed fixed on the village, "That situation with Konoha's Jinchuuriki was certainly a mess," he acknowledged. "And his vendetta against that Uzumaki kid as well."

"It's all so dull," Darui complained. "To think I'd have to experience war in my lifetime..."

Before he had even finished getting through his sentence, he heard the barely audible sound of someone landing not too far behind him. He and C both turned around to see a masked individual, apparently affiliated with Konoha if the armor and distinct porcelain mask of their Anbu Black Ops.

"Finally, I've found you," the Anbu remarked, his voice far more upbeat than what one would expect, considering most in his position were stoic and unreadable.

Darui's eye's narrowed when he noticed that the intruder seemed to be explicitly focused on C, 'Does he know that C is a sensory type?' he thought to himself. 'But how would he..?'

Before any more words could be exchanged, the Anbu unleashed a barrage of shuriken toward them, before spewing flames from where his mouth would be under the mask. Each of the individual shuriken was encased in flames, making them a tad easier to dodge in the darkness of the night, but far deadlier if not evaded.

Still, the attack itself was rather straightforward, apparently done with the purpose of distracting and leading on to another, more effective maneuver. Due to his immense skill and experience, Darui was able to see the Anbu disappear in a blur of speed all while he simultaneously avoided the attack.

"C, he's-"

"I know!" C interrupted before quickly turning around on a dime, evidently able to anticipate the intruder's movements due to his sensory abilities. "Lighting Style: Flash Pillar!"

Electricity was discharged through C's body, creating a bright light that blinded everyone in the surrounding area. Having fought alongside his friend before, Darui managed to cover his eyes just in time, all the while keeping the rest of his sense on high alert in case of another attack.

Darui was filled with newfound confidence. C was skilled in many regards, both as a sensory type and a medic-nin; however, he was also deadly in combat. In the entire village, it was likely that there wasn't another shinobi more skilled in the use of genjutsu in battle.

After waiting another few seconds, he opened his eyes and turned in C's direction, "So what kind of hallucination did you put the guy under?"

C glanced toward him, perhaps to explain, but was then blitzed instantaneously as his head snapped back due to a vicious knee. It all happened too quickly for Darui to intervene, and before he knew it, his comrade was incapacitated, and he was left alone to fend against this mysterious intruder.

"The genjutsu didn't work?" Darui mumbled to himself as he lowered himself into a fighting stance.

The Anbu appeared to have heard him, "Nah. Genjutsu is kind of my thing, actually, so your buddy was just unlucky, I guess," he responded, rather matter of factly, but Darui chose to assume that there was mocking laced in his voice.

Darui removed the large cleaver he had been carrying on his back, and in response, the Anbu unsheathed his tanto. It was a much smaller weapon in comparison, but any jonin-level shinobi was skilled enough to channel chakra through their weapons, enhancing them and making snapping through the thin tanto blade more difficult than it appeared.

"This is pretty brazen of you, isn't it?" Darui asked. "Don't you Konoha Anbu usually prefer to scurry in the shadows?"

Seemingly unaffected by the comment, the Anbu chuckled, "We want you to know that we were here. That it was us. That's the whole point," he explained. "Hard to interpret a message if you don't know who's sending it to you."

"You couldn't have just sent a messenger hawk?" Darui joked before the two men began circling around each other, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Despite the casual nature of their conversation, the tension was incredibly high as the two men released their chakra, resulting in literal pressure being exerted in the surrounding area. Despite not being a sensor, Darui was easily able to tell that his opponent had incredibly potent chakra, leading him to believe that this was no ordinary Anbu.

"Your Raikage has made it clear that he has no interest in negotiating or reading letters," was what he received as a reply. "Besides, even if we did come to an understanding again, your meathead of a leader would break any treaties he signs before the ink could even dry. Violence and force are the only languages he knows...so here we are."

Darui smirked slightly, "We? So there's more than one of you then? That's good to know."

Whether it was because of the observation or because an opening appeared, Darui didn't know, but almost immediately after he spoke his opponent lunged toward him with immense speed, blade ready to decapitate him. Thankfully, he was able to block it with the flat of his sword before skidding back and creating space.

"I assume that between you and your partner, you're stronger, right?" Darui asked. "That would make sense, since you were the one sent to take out C, which is crucial to whatever you're planning."

The Anbu's head tilted, and it was clear that he had no idea what his opponent was getting at. It was beginning to get difficult to tell if this was a battle of blades or words. Darui was doing his best to learn as much about these intruders as possible so that he could pass along the information to the boss once he was finished here.

"I'm just wondering if I'll need to conserve my chakra in this fight," Darui elaborated. "But seeing as your partner is weaker than you, I can probably handle him easily enough after I'm finished here."

Surprisingly, his remark earned another chuckle from the Anbu, "Underestimating an opponent is one of the worst mistakes you can make," he countered.

As the conversation continued to develop, Darui noticed a crow soaring in the sky above him. He thought nothing of it until many more appeared resulting in what could only be described as a storm of birds flying around him and his opponent chaotically, blocking out the moon and making it difficult for him to orient himself.

Noticing the absurdity of it all, and remembering that the Anbu had remarked that genjutsu was his forte, Darui focused his chakra throughout his body in an attempt to undo what was clearly some kind of illusion. As he did, the crows took it as their opportunity to, as a collective, fly in his direction all at once.

Right as he managed to dispel the illusion, each of the crows morphed into a ball of flame, revealing that his opponent had been using genjutsu to mask his true attack. Thankfully, Darui was lucky enough to have an affinity for water, alongside his affinity for lightning, and weaved through hand seals faster than the human eye could track.

"Water Style: Water Prison!"

Just in the nick of time, water was expelled from his mouth, surrounding him in a sphere water that was highly difficult to penetrate from either the inside or outside. It was a jutsu typically used to trap an opponent, but Darui was bright enough to realize that he needed a defense that could protect him from all directions. The only con to using this jutsu as a defense was the fact that he needed to hold his breath while inside, which could lead to him drowning if he remained inside for too long.

It worked just as he had intended, with each of the fireballs being extinguished almost immediately upon impact, creating hot steam that filled the surrounding area. However, just as he was preparing to release the technique, a much larger ball of flames came barreling toward him. He continued maintaining the jutsu, and it continued to hold up, protecting him from any damage. But all was not as well as it may have seemed.

Darui's brow visibly furrowed as his opponent continued to pepper his protective sphere of water with various fire style jutsu. Minutes soon passed, and Darui began to wonder what would give out first, his ability to hold his breath or his opponent's chakra reserves.

'He's leaving me with two options,' Darui thought to himself. 'Stay in here and drown, or release the jutsu and be incinerated...How dull.'

For his sake, he hoped that he could come up with something soon; otherwise, he and his village were in a heap of trouble.

* * *

Located in a darkened alley, Naruto sat hidden within the shadows. He waited patiently, keeping himself occupied by maintaining his breathing patterns and preventing his chakra from fluctuating in a way that could reveal his position to the enemy. This wasn't his first infiltration mission, but it was undoubtedly the most high-profile and dangerous. He would need to be even more cautious than usual.

He and Shisui had arrived in the Land of Lightning barely over twenty-four hours ago and spent that time planning out their next move before infiltrating the village in the late evening. It wasn't all that difficult, actually. For all their military aggression Kumogakure had a far less sophisticated security system than Konoha. He and Shisui merely had to incapacitate one of the perimeter guards before sneaking in.

As he sat contemplating what he would need to do in the coming hours, he sensed a presence approaching him from the entrance of the alley. He stood to his feet and waited patiently until he and the stranger were face-to-face. It was a Kumogakure shinobi, which was evident by his garb and headband. He had onyx eyes and ash-grey hair, which was kept in a ponytail. Most notable where his black rimmed circular glasses.

"It is nice to meet you, Mr. Anbu," the stranger greeted casually with a sly smile. "But I was under the impression that there would be two of you?"

Naruto crossed his arms and explained, "My partner is currently dispatching of the village's sensory type so we can proceed uninterrupted," he said.

The Kumo shinobi's smile widened, and he adjusted his glasses with his middle and pointer finger. He then reached behind his back and inserted his hand into the pouch he had attached to his waist. Naruto's eyes narrowed behind his mask as he instinctively prepared for some kind of attack, but was put at ease when the man simply removed what appeared to be a scroll.

"Don't you trust me?" the Kumo shinobi teased knowingly, apparently having picked up on Naruto's apprehension.

If he were a lesser man Naruto would have rolled his eyes at the comment, "You are a spy," he responded simply. "It would be foolish to trust you."

The man smiled, apparently in agreement before adjusting his glasses once more in what Naruto was quickly beginning to identify as a habit. He found this man to be quite odd, as he didn't portray the typical demeanor that Naruto expected from one of Danzo's Root Anbu. In place of the standard emotionless visage, there was a man who appeared almost devious in nature.

"All of the promised intel is in that scroll," the spy commented, inclining his head toward the roll of parchment now in Naruto's possession. "I must say, it was rather difficult to come by. It makes me wonder how you're actually going to get this done."

Naruto placed the scroll in his pouch without any explanation, "You're dismissed," he commanded, finding the spy's presence to no longer be needed.

He received a silent chuckle and a resigned nod in response, "Very well. I do hope to meet again someday soon, Mr. Anbu," he remarked before slinking back into the shadows like a cold-blooded reptile.

Once he was finally alone, Naruto removed the scroll from his pouch, and his Sharingan sprang to life as his eyes darted over all the writing and imagery, instantly memorizing and categorizing the information into his mind. Overall, it was the intel was incredibly valuable, and made his task seem a bit less like a complete and utter fool's errand.

"The Kohaku no Jōhei," he muttered to himself, remarking on the object the scroll and his mission were both centered around.

The Kohaku no Jōhei or Amber Purifying Pot was one of the tools of the legendary Sage of Six Paths. While most had gone missing over the roughly one thousand years since the Sage walked the Earth, several of them somehow came into the possession of Kumogakure. Most of them were eventually stolen by the Gold and Silver Brothers when they defected from the village, but the Kohaku no Jōhei still remained as their sole relic.

Being able to infiltrate Kumogakure and steal their most valued artifact right from under their noses would be the best way for Konoha to show them that they weren't to be meddled with. It could also show the Raikage that they had other means of hurting him outside of merely killing his men, and could possibly trick him into making a mistake out of rage.

Naruto read further into the scroll and finally came across the Kohaku no Jōhei's location. It was apparently hidden in an underground chamber below the base of the most massive mountain of the many that surrounded the village. The intel also spoke of a lone guardian in the chamber, but apparently, the spy hadn't been able to find out exactly who this person was.

"The likelihood of me getting out of here alive isn't very high, but when is it ever?" he mumbled to himself before his thoughts went elsewhere. "I wonder how Shisui is doing?"

* * *

"Just give up you stubborn bastard!" Shisui complained in irritation after using another fire jutsu. "You've been holding your breath for like twenty minutes!"

Darui simply shook his head and flipped him off from within the prison of water.

* * *

With a shrug of his shoulders, Naruto banished the thought, "I'm sure everything's going smoothly."

After another few moments of waiting, he decided that it was likely that Shisui had taken out the sensory type by now. With that in mind, Naruto leaped out of the shadows and into the moonlit sky. His hands weaved through a familiar set of hand seals, and he was engulfed in a puff of smoke. When it faded in the wind, he was revealed to have used the transformation jutsu to disguise himself as a dark-skinned Kumogakure shinobi.

He then landed on the street below and darted toward his intended destination, doing his best to look like an active duty shinobi searching for intruders. Occasionally he would pass some other Kumo shinobi, but they all sprinted by without a second glance. His seemed to be working perfectly so far-

"Hey, you!" a voice shouted from behind him, causing him to skid to a halt. Naruto turned around and saw three Kumo Shinobi eyeing him up.

His mind raced. Did they notice something? "Uh...yeah?" he said as they all got a little closer.

"Have you seen anything yet, we haven't found shit, man," one of the complained before yawning, clearly exhausted.

Naruto silently cleared his throat in nervousness, "No, I haven't been able to find anything either...man," he replied, internally sweating. For all his talents, he'd never been much of an actor.

"Damnit!" another one of the men growled in frustration. "Those Konoha trash must be lucky as hell. The second we find them they're dead."

"I don't know if luck has anything to do with it. They seem pretty clever to me," Naruto countered without even thinking, earning several odd looks. "I-I mean, clever by Konoha standards. Those tree hugging bastards are stupid as hell...am I right?"

He was forced to remain composed as the other men merely blinked in his direction. Had he given himself away so carelessly?

"Riiiiiight," one of them said, clearly weirded out. "Well, anyway we're going to go search on the other side of the village now. I'm sure you have things handled over here."

Before he could even say another word, the other men disappeared in bursts of speed. He instantly felt all of the tension leave his shoulders as soon as they were gone. He'd really need to work on his improv; otherwise, the next time he was asked to infiltrate enemy territory, he'd be found out instantly. He was just glad Shisui hadn't been here to see that, or he would have never heard the end of it.

After that, there were no interruptions, and he soon arrived at the entrance of the chamber. It was a massive pair of steel doors which were being guarded by only two men, far less than what was usually the case, but with intruders currently about, most shinobi personnel were out searching.

"What are you doing here?" one of the guardsmen asked, his voice laced with suspicion. "Shouldn't you be out looking for the enemy right now?"

It was subtle, unnoticeable to most, but Naruto's eyes quickly shifted crimson red, and before they knew it, the guards' eyes glazed over. Sometimes the most effective genjutsu were the kind that weren't all that powerful, using very little chakra being. It was like utilizing a needle to kill someone instead of a sword. If done correctly, it could get the job done all the same, without drawing as much attention.

"Lord Raikage sent me to check on the relic. He's worried that the enemy may be here to steal it," he explained, knowing that the genjutsu had taken full effect. "Stay here no matter what you hear down below and don't let anyone else inside."

The guards nodded in understanding, "Yes, sir," they both drawled in unison before they each pulled out a key and inserted them into the door's two keyholes and turning them in opposite directions.

It took a tremendous effort for the two men to pull the doors open, but with the physical strain clearly evident on their faces, they did so. The first thing he saw was darkness, as the entrance to the chamber didn't seem to have any lighting. Further down, however, he could very faintly see some torchlight. Not wanting to waste another moment, he silently descended the stairs.

The who experience actually reminded him quite a bit of the time when he and Izumi first entered the Headquarters of the Anbu after they had been recruited. They were both deep plunges into worlds filled with the unknown, but he had a feeling that this particular journey would involve far more violence. Kumogakure wouldn't allow their most sacred item to be guarded by an amateur, so this would likely be an extreme test of his skills.

He didn't quite know what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he got. The first thing he noticed upon entering the chamber wasn't the Kohaku no Jōhei he had come all this way just to retrieve, but rather, it was the absolutely ripped man sitting crisscross in the center of the room. He seemed to pay his visitor no mind as he mumbled under his breath and scribbled into his notebook.

The man had dark skin along with his muscular build, as well as white hair and a goatee. On his right shoulder was a tattoo of the kanji for "iron" (鉄, Tetsu) and on his left cheek was a tattoo of a bull's horn. He also wore oval shaped sunglasses and a white-colored forehead protector. He also has his village's standard one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket, and a long, red rope belt tied around his waist, the standard Kumo hand and shin guards, shinobi sandals, and a white scarf around his neck. Strangely enough, he also wore seven swords on his back.

Just as Naruto thought he had gone unnoticed, the man spoke, "Barging in this late is hella cruel, you teensy weensy baby fool," he said, seemingly speaking in rhymes. "State ya business before I put you to sleep for good, ya fool!"

Naruto could only blink in surprise. Could it be possible that he had finally met someone that was stranger than Shisui?

"Lord Raikage sent me to retrieve the Kohaku no Jōhei. He fears that the intruders are here to steal it and wants to move it to a more secure location," Naruto explained still under disguise, subtly using the same genjutsu he had used on the guards. "So if you'll pardon me, I'll be taking it now."

Naruto was unable to see the strange man's eyes due to his sunglasses, but he assumed that the genjutsu had worked since he didn't move at all. Taking that as his signal to proceed, Naruto began walking in the direction of the Kohaku no Jōhei. Shockingly, before he had made even three steps, the man disappeared in a burst of speed, and he felt a fist embedded in his abdomen. The force of the punch was so powerful that it sent him flying into the concrete wall of the chamber, demolishing a portion of the wall and instantly dispelling his transformation.

The sheer force of the impact required him to gather his breath for a moment, and as the dust from the rubble began to dissipate, Naruto saw the silhouette of his enemy in the distance. He was engulfed in a cloak of bubbling red chakra that Naruto was instantly familiar with. While manifesting in a very different way, the feeling he was getting from the chakra was undeniably similar to what he felt during his fight with the Jinchuuriki, Yugito.

"Another *cough* Jinchuuriki?" he mumbled to himself as he struggled back into a standing position. His cloak was now in tatters, so he removed it, revealing his Anbu armor underneath.

"Such confusion, surprised I broke through your illusion?" the bizarre man mocked with a grin. "You fool, of course I'm a Jinchuuriki, can't you see? Eight-Tails, that's me, da rapping Killer Bee!"

It would seem that he was now two for two when it came to encountering Kumogakure's Jinchuuriki. Great…

* * *

Darui was on his last legs at this point. Even for a shinobi, he could only hold his breath for so long, and his opponent didn't seem as if he'd be running out of chakra anytime soon. It was clear that to win this fight, he'd need to outthink his enemy, so he quickly began wracking his brain for an unpredictable strategy.

On the other side, Shisui was beginning to get a bit impatient. He would prefer to get this over with as soon as possible, so he could get back to Naruto and help with the retrieval of the Kohaku no Jōhei before one of them ended up getting killed. He was beginning to worry about his friend. There were countless shinobi scouring the streets right now, and even for someone as skilled as Naruto navigating through that was incredibly dangerous.

Shaking his head in irritation, he weaved through another string of hand seals and a massive fireball was sent careening toward the water prison. It almost felt pointless, since every one of his attacks had failed in both breaking through the defense and getting his opponent to surrender due to his desperate circumstances. Right now, he could really use of stroke of good luck.

Then, almost as if the universe had answered his prayers, the mist generated from the heat of his attack faded in the wind and his opponent was revealed to be face-first in a pool of water. Shisui wasn't sure if he finally passed out or if he simply ran out of chakra maintaining the defense, but he really didn't care. All he was concerned about what that this was finally over.

Deciding that binding and restraining his enemy rather than killing him was more his style, Shisui retrieved some shinobi wire from one of his various pouches and appeared next to the unconscious Kumo shinobi in a burst of impressive speed. It was only when he kneeled down to tie him up that he realized his mistake.

His opponent was suddenly engulfed in black lighting, searing the skin on the palm of Shisui's left hand before he managed to teleport to a safe distance. The pain was incredible, but Shisui remained focused as he watched his apparently rather clever enemy return to his feet, with the same look of lazy boredom plastered on his face.

"That was supposed to kill you, how dull," he complained. "You Konoha shinobi never make things easy, do you?"

Shisui smirked under his mask, the pain from his hand a mere afterthought, "I could say the same about you," he remarked before his posture straightened. "I'd like to learn your name."

There was now an unspoken level of respect between the two men. It was the kind of respect that could only develop in the midst of battle, when the two participants realized that they were squaring off with someone that could very well take their life at any given moment. It was difficult to explain to those who had never seen battle before.

"The name's Darui," his opponent casually revealed. "And while you hide your appearance well, I've already figured out who you are...Shisui of the Mirage."

In response, Shisui merely shrugged his shoulders, "Shisui of the what now?" he asked. "Never heard of him."

Darui then massaged his neck in apparent soreness, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say," he said, clearly not believing a word of what he was just told. "How about we get this over with?"

A particularly strong gust of wind carried through the area, rustling their hair and clothes, though, despite this, the two men stood as still as statues. Each patiently waited to see if the other would make the first move, which would undoubtedly spark the second round of their little dance.

In an instant, Darui was no longer in his relaxed position was his hands quickly went through five hand seals, "Storm Release: Laser Circus!" he announced.

First, a halo of bright energy spread around the Darui's hands as the jutsu was activated. Then it encircled his hands, and from that, several beams of lighting were sent straight at Shisui, who merely stood in place as they approached faster than most could ever hope to move. His Sharingan eyes closed under his mask and then the jutsu impacted, creating a cloud of dust and debris.

Darui's eyes darted in all directions as he attempted to predict where Shisui could have possibly teleported to, but at no point did his enemy appear. It was then that his eyes widened in shock as the dust cleared, revealing something that he couldn't have envisioned occurring in his wildest dreams.

Shisui remained where he stood, his body encased in what appeared to be some kind of ethereal green ribcage made from pure chakra. Then, before Darui's very eyes, the ribcage formed into a towering skeleton, which was then encased with flesh and then armor, finishing as a massive green avatar which resembled a fiendish looking tengu. Shisui stood at the center of this gigantic chakra construct, completely protected from all sides.

"I'm sorry, but I can't keep holding back," Shisui said, his Sharingan visibly glowing behind his mask, now taking the form of a four-point pinwheel. "Don't ask how I know, but I get the distinct feeling that my buddy is in danger."

At the sight of his now seemingly insurmountable opposition, Darui could only manage to say one thing.

"How dull."

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **First things first, I'd like to thank all of you for putting up with my brief absence. In case any of you were wondering, at no point was this story at risk of being put on a hiatus, or even abandoned. I have every intention of finishing this story completely; however, if I feel that my passion for it has faded to the point that I don't feel like I can put out my best work, I will take a break and wait for it to return. Even while writing this chapter I didn't feel the same amount of passion that I had when I started this story, but I'm genuinely excited for the next few that I have in store for you guys. Anyway, this isn't something that you guys should expect to happen often, so I could see the next few updates happening fairly regularly. Still, I have a general rule of each chapter being at minimum 5,000 words, so don't expect an update every single week or something crazy like that. There will be times in which I do manage multiple updates in a single month, and I get the feeling that will happen in the month of March, but don't take my word on that.**

 **I'd like to give a shoutout to everyone who has left reviews on my story. In particular, I'd like to mention** _ **Asuraa**_ **, who is a rather accomplished author on this site, with two stories called "Absolute Choice" and "Live and Let Die." I highly recommend that you give these two stories a read!**

 **Again, thank you all for your continued support.**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto: The Second Coming - Chapter Eleven~**

* * *

" **Fly Like a Butterfly"**

 _(Just Prior to the Mission)_

 _Naruto stood stiff as a board, in a scenario that he quite honestly had never expected himself being forced into. A mere hour before he and Shisui were meant to depart for their top-secret mission, and here he was standing, silently watching his sensei peering through a spyglass at a group of women that had made the mistake of relaxing in a nearby river. Fools. Didn't they know that an insane pervert was on the loose?_

" _I have to say, the armor suits you," Jiraiya complimented with a sly grin. He didn't take his eye away from the spyglass for even a moment, and Naruto was quite confident that nothing less than Tsunade Senju herself inviting him into her bed could get him to do so._

 _He was fully clothed in his Anbu attire, minus the mask, which he was holding in his left hand. He wore a travel pack including all essential items pertaining to the mission, including a hooded cloak that would better conceal his appearance. He shifted his hand onto his hip as he waited patiently for his sensei to explain why he asked to meet with him before he left._

 _That time then seemed to finally arrive after Jiraiya got particularly excited by one of the women briefly stepping out of the water, revealing her fully nude body to his lustful eye. Naruto, on the other hand, was decent enough to avert his gaze in defense of the poor woman's modesty._

" _I'm going to be honest kid, I don't think you're ready for this mission," he suddenly confessed, his voice now rather serious despite the bounty his eyes had just been gifted. "But the old man wouldn't hear me out, so it seems that you're going anyway."_

 _The comment stung a bit, "You tried to have me taken off of the mission?" he asked, maintaining an even tone._

 _Jiraiya shrugged his shoulder, evidently not at all ashamed, "Look, you're no slouch, don't get me wrong, but this is your first mission with the Anbu, and that old coot is having you sneak into an enemy nation to steal a heavily guarded relic," he explained. "That's something even I'd struggle to do, and I've been at this way longer than you, kid."_

" _I won't question Lord Hokage's decision, and neither should you," Naruto countered. "And besides, there's always a risk of death in the life of a shinobi, and it would be an honor for me to die serving my home."_

 _Without any word of warning, Jiraiya lowered the spyglass from his eye and swiveled around to face his young pupil. He gave him a surprised look, with raised brows, before actually laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke of all time. Naruto could only be left trying to understand what was so funny in the first place, feeling a tad bit embarrassed._

 _Seemingly finding it difficult to actually speak, Jiraiya needed a moment to compose himself, "I always knew that you were a damned idiot, but this stroke of stupidity surprised even me," he managed to get out before chuckling again. "You're still only a kid, so don't try and act so content to die. What would Mito do if you were to go and get yourself killed? Have you thought about that?"_

 _It was then that a sound of feminine laughter in the distance caused Jiraiya to raise his spyglass once more, with a silly grin on his face. With that being the case, most would assume that his little lecture was over, and Naruto would have been counted among them. Subverting this expectation, his sensei decided that now was the time to demonstrate his skills in multitasking, where he continued to dispense wisdom while also peeping on oblivious women._

 _"Your parents died so that you could live, not so you'd foolishly throw away your life a few years down the road," he continued. "Do you think Minato would have chosen death if there was any other option? No, he would have stayed alive to be with you and your sister. Do you realize how silly you sound in comparison, saying that you're willing to die and leave your sister behind just to retrieve some jar?"_

 _Naruto was certainly glad that all of his sensei's questions thus far had been rhetorical, because right now he was actually at a loss for what to say in response. For the first time in a long while, he felt like an actual kid. He was never the kind of child that misbehaved in a way that resulted in him being lectured by his parents, so this was something new to him._

 _Jiraiya scratched his cheek as he continued spying, "You spend so much time trying to be selfless that it actually makes you blind to how fundamentally broken you are," he said, noticeably shifting the tone of the conversation. "If you weren't so fixated on serving and protecting your loved ones, you might actually befriend some more people and learn to act like a healthy human being. Outside of your actual friends, who I can count on one hand with fingers to spare, how many people can claim that they've actually gotten to know you?"_

" _Is this why you asked me to come here, Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruto asked with crossed arms, feeling a tad bit defensive. "Surely this conversation could have waited until after I returned from my mission."_

" _You idiot, have you not listened to a word that I've said?" Jiraiya responded with a shake of his head and a slight elevation of his tone. "I'm trying to keep my godson from going out and getting himself killed. This isn't a conversation that can wait."_

 _The sheer weight of the response nearly made Naruto's train of thought come to a screeching halt. These past few days had done a great job in presenting him with conversations that completely subverted his expectations. Last night there was his talk with Fugaku-sama, and now he was being lectured by a guy who he had grown to know as a carefree, perverted buffoon._

" _I've seen your type before. The person who's lost everything," Jiraiya continued. "You close yourself off from people because forming connections with others presents more opportunities to experience loss. And when you do actually manage to form bonds with others, you obsess over the possibility of them dying and train like a madman to protect them. You think that it's up to you to carry all of these burdens on your own, but it isn't."_

 _Naruto was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable as this talk was beginning to hit a little to close to home for his liking. Was it because deep down he knew that his sensei was right? Probably, but it wasn't something that he could so quickly come to terms with without more time to reflect on the issue. Maybe he had been wasting his childhood in service of others when he should have been making friends and enjoying the simpler things, but that was how things played out. Besides, right now, he had a mission to worry about._

" _I have to leave now, but know that I'll be mulling over what you've told me until we get a chance to speak again," Naruto finally said with a slight bow after finding his voice again. "It was a lot to take in all at once, so I apologize if it didn't seem as if I was taking it seriously."_

 _He turned to leave but was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that Jiraiya had turned around to face him with a softened expression that he hadn't seen on the perverted Sage's face before. It was the kind of look he remembered his mother and father giving him when he was a young child. Jiraiya didn't just view him as a student...he saw him as family._

" _Wait, kid, there's still the reason I asked you to come here in the first place. I need to tell you something important," he said, revealing to Naruto that their conversation had gotten entirely off-topic. "There's someone that you need to know about before you infiltrate Kumogakure."_

 _With a slight incline of the head, Naruto gave him the floor to speak, "I'm listening."_

" _Yugito Nii is not the only Jinchuuriki that lives within the mountains of Kumogakure," Jiraiya explained, mentioning a name that Naruto instantly remembered. "I doubt you'll encounter him, but if you somehow run into the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, there's only one option for you if you're to actually survive."_

" _And what's that?" Naruto asked, wondering if his sensei had a special plan already formulated._

" _You run, Naruto. You run and don't look back."_

* * *

(Present Time)

Naruto looked at the Hachibi Jinchuuriki standing no more than ten feet away from him, in an almost completely closed off chamber, and couldn't help but curse his luck. Of all the people that would be guarding the Kohaku no Jōhei it would be the one person that Jiraiya-sensei told him he'd need to avoid at all costs.

"Check it, ya fool," Killer Bee shouted with a grin. "If you want to run, now's the time to choose. Cuz once I get started I don't stop, and you're bound to lose, ya dig?"

Naruto's only response was to draw his tanto from its sheath. His sensei had never been one for hyperbole or exaggeration, so that meant that this man was someone that he couldn't hope to defeat at his current level. But even still, a retreat wasn't an option since he was the only thing standing between him and his mission objective.

"So the Hachibi Jinchuuriki is the guardian of the Kohaku no Jōhei," Naruto commented out loud in an attempt to stall for time so he could come up with a plan.

Killer Bee pointed at him and said, "That's right. And it's Lord Hachibi to you. Ya dumbass phony."

Were there any Jinchuuriki out there that weren't complete weirdos?

Before he could attempt to keep the conversation going any further, a chakra conductive blade coated in lighting was thrown squarely at his face. His Sharingan activated instantly, and he was narrowly able to avoid being pierced. Keeping himself aware of the battle area, he was able to notice that his opponent had disappeared from where he had been standing.

Relying on intuition and battle instinct, Naruto was able to detect another such blade coming toward the side of his head. Simultaneously, over his shoulder, he saw his opponent was now behind him, having caught the blade that he had initially thrown, now preparing to use it to stab him in the back. It would seem that he was using a diversionary tactic in an attempt to confine him.

Faster than the human eye could track, Naruto formed the Shadow Clone hand seal and in a puff of smoke, a perfect copy appeared. Without a moments hesitation, it grabbed his arm and tossed him out of the way, getting stabbed in his place and dispelling as quickly as it had appeared.

'He doesn't want to give me an opportunity to think and plan my next move,' Naruto thought to himself as he jumped back even further to create more distance. 'He won't commit to a particular strategy until he's tested me a bit.'

Rather than continuing his aggressive advance, his opponent immediately halted in his tracks and pulled out his notebook once again. Naruto remained on guard, not knowing if this notebook pertained at all to some kind of jutsu or plan, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case.

"Shadow Clone...bone...stone...zone? I'm in a zone...I just took out your shadow clone...Yeah, that's tight," Killer Bee mumbled to himself before scribbling it down in his notebook. He was apparently pleased enough with the rhyme to actually write it down for future reference.

Not one to grant an opponent a break, Naruto weaved through a familiar set of hand seals, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."

As he'd seen them do hundreds of times before during training, the balls of flame homed in on their target with pinpoint accuracy. Not one to wait to see if an attack worked or not, Naruto blurred out of sight in an impressive showing of speed. Almost at the exact same moment, his opponent managed to expertly weave through each of the fireballs without taking his eyes off of what he was writing.

Just as he finished dodging the jutsu, Naruto decided to take a page out of his own book and not give him enough time to even breath. He was already at his side with a Rasengan in his right hand prepared to grind a hole through the Hachibi Jinchuuriki's back. The attack seemed noteworthy enough to cause the shinobi/rapper to lower his notebook for a brief moment.

It was then that Naruto found his attack unable to reach as he found himself restrained. Looking down toward his waist, he was surprised to see a gray octopus tentacle grabbing him from out of the ground, originating from Killer Bee's lower back. He had tunneled it through the concrete below so he could grab him from behind, once again taking advantage of blind spots.

With a grin, Killer Bee chastised his far younger opponent, "The only one who gets to interrupt me is ME, ya fool!" he said, apparently taking issue with Naruto trying to kill him while he was busy writing.

Though, after having said so, his attention shifted toward the rotating chakra sphere that was still continuously spinning in Naruto's hand. It was difficult to see what his expression was underneath his shades, but it was clear that he was surprised to see his opponent use such a jutsu.

"That jutsu...it's the Yellow Flash's, no doubt. I saw him use it years ago in our first and only bout," Killer Bee remarked after staring for a few moments.

Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask as his opponent essentially confessed to having fought his father in the past. Was this for real? Was he actually expected to fight against someone who managed to come out of an encounter with his father alive? Now Jiraiya-sensei's warning was making even more sense. This opponent was far beyond him.

"Anything you want to say before I put ya away, ya fool?" Killer Bee asked raising a blade and streaming lightning through it in preparation to run Naruto through.

If that was how he wanted to play this, Naruto had a fitting set of final words, "Great Clone Explosion."

Before Killer Bee could even so much as blink in response, Naruto, now revealed to be a clone, detonated in a blast that shook the very foundations of the room.

* * *

At the surface above, the two gate guards remained impassive as they felt the ground tremor below them. They both remained visibly stoic, clearly still affected by the mind-altering genjutsu Naruto had placed on them earlier.

"Should we check that out?" one of the asked, his voice monotone.

The other shook his head, "He told us not to come down no matter what we heard, remember?"

"True."

* * *

Naruto braced himself behind a support pillar as the explosion rocked the entire room with a level of force that felt comparable to that of an earthquake. Being so far under the ground, in a fairly insulated room with no windows, the blast was far more powerful than it would have normally been. For a moment, he wondered if it had been overkill, but then he remembered who he was fighting.

'He likely survived that. I need to got the Kohaku no Jōhei before he figures out what's going on,' he thought to himself before making a beeline toward the back of the room, where the relic was still sitting, now unguarded.

There was then a falter in his step when Naruto felt an unfathomable amount of chakra barreling toward him. He turned over his shoulder and saw that his opponent was now completely covered in a red cloak of bubbling chakra, with eight tails and a set of horns.

Killer Bee grinned, showing his now elongated canine teeth, "Yo, I'll squash you flat, split splat!" he taunted before his attack landed, with enough force to crush much of the concrete floor below.

It took a few moments for the dusk to settle, but when it did, Killer Bee found himself standing inside an empty crater, with a stone covered in paper bombs where his defeated opponent should have been. Before he could even make so much as a single rhyme, the paper bombs exploded.

Naruto watched from his position on the ceiling, thankful for the fact that he made sure to practice the substitution jutsu so many times during his Academy days. When the dust settled, he was unsurprised to see that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki hadn't even bothered leaving the crater. The explosion hadn't done any damage whatsoever.

"Without my cloak, I'd be up in smoke," he complained as he looked around the room in an attempt to find the pesky intruder. "Gotta thank Eight-Tails when I'm done, son."

It took all of his years of training and self-control to keep from allowing panic to overtake him. Nothing was working. He wasn't fast enough to catch his opponent off guard, none of his attacks were strong enough to do any real damage, and he had no chance of getting the Kohaku no Jōhei when the Hachibi Jinchuuriki knew that was what he was here for in the first place.

Then out of nowhere, he felt a searing pain in his leg and looked down to a red chakra arm grabbing his ankle. With no chance to escape, he was unceremoniously slammed into the ground below, feeling several of his bones break during the impact. Adrenaline was the only thing that kept him conscious, but with the severe burns on his leg and bones broken in both his ribs and left arm, it wasn't likely that he'd be conscious or alive for much longer.

Even with his now blurred vision, he was able to see his Jinchuuriki opponent leap into the air above him, apparently intent on ending things here and now. He attempted to move his body, but a jolt of pain prevented him from doing so. He could only watch on as his death appeared imminent.

"And now I'll end the show with a killer blow!"

For a split second, Naruto felt a lingering desire to give up as his saw his chakra-clad opponent inching closer and closer. His Sharingan only served to make his death appear to happen slower, but he knew that in all likelihood his body was too weakened to react anyway. Then, in that moment, he saw a multitude of faces flash before his eyes. Mito, Sasuke, and finally Izumi.

In an unexplainable turn of events, he ignored the unspeakable pain and managed to roll himself to the side, just a bit. He felt the Hachibi Jinchuuriki's arm slam into the ground right where he had been lying, and knew that he would have certainly died had he surrendered to his fate. Even still, his close proximity to the impact caused him to be launched into one of the several support pillars lining the room.

At that point, the pain who just a dull throb to him, and he was quickly able to recognize that his sheer desire to live was the only thing keeping him going. Thinking on his toes, he took note of the other support pillars in the room and quickly came up with a plan. Using his good arm, he fished out all of the remaining kunai and paper bombs from within his weapons pouch.

"So puny, yet so bothersome," Killer Bee mumbled to himself before standing up to face his Anbu opponent.

He then smirked casually when he noticed that the brat seemed like he was going to try and get him with paper bombs again, as if he hadn't been shown already that doing so was basically useless. Therefore, Bee felt no need to move as the kid pulled his arm back to throw the kunai knives.

"Can't you learn, you little worm? You think some paper bombs will make me squirm-" he rapped before pausing before completion when he noticed all of the thrown kunai miss him by a mile.

He turned and saw them each planted in the pillars on the other side of the room, and was finally able to realize what the little bastard was planning. He bent his legs in preparation to move, but for the third time in their fight, he was unable to react in time as an explosion bigger than all that proceeded it rang out through the large chamber. Many of the pillars collapsed and chunks of the ceiling began to rain down, creating a cloud of dust that made it impossible to see anything.

His chakra cloak defended him from any of the damage, but he was forced to strain his eyes as he attempted to spot his little troublesome opponent. This plan of his was clever, he'd give him that, but even with the element of surprise, there wasn't any kind of ambush assault he could do that would actually damage him. If he had something like that in his arsenal, he would have used it anyway.

No ambush came, however, and he was left practically scratching his head until he figured out what was going on. That little bastard knew he couldn't win the fight, so he was creating a diversion to steal the Kohaku no Jōhei! While still unable to see, Killer Bee still knew where the relic was in proximity to him, and as quickly as possible shot in that direction.

Thankfully, he seemed to arrive just in time, as he managed to see the silhouette of the little blonde brat about to pick the pot up. He intercepted him just in time and pinned him against the wall with his forearm. He watched the kid squirm and then glanced over to his left to make sure that the Kohaku no Jōhei was still where it was supposed to be.

"Nice try, little guy," he complimented with a grin. "But you ain't-"

Before he could finish, the blonde Anbu brat that he had been pressing into the wall burst into a cloud of smoke. Bee blinked for a few moments before turning back toward the Kohaku no Jōhei. Noticing something odd about it, he walked to the relic and touched it with his palm. As soon as he did, it too burst into smoke, and when the smoke faded all that remained where the relic had been was a single green leaf. The symbol of Konohagakure.

"Damn," was all he could say, for once short for words.

* * *

It took tremendous effort to continue moving in his current state, but Naruto managed to navigate the streets of Kumogakure with retaliative ease. He and Shisui had already mapped out specific escape routes in the village, including roads that were less likely to be patrolled, etc. At the moment, he was too injured to even use the transformation jutsu, so he was currently relying on using stealth to hide in the shadows.

Now that he had escaped immediate danger to his life, his body chose to suddenly remind him of just how damaged it was. Each step felt like someone was jabbing at his broken ribs, or as if boiling hot water was being poured in his leg. The searing, burning pain in his leg was similar to the pain he experienced when receiving his injury against the Nibi Jinchuuriki, which served as further proof of the sheer potency of Bijuu chakra.

'I have to find Shisui,' he thought to himself, doing his best to keep his mind focused on the mission and not on the pain.

"Don't move."

The voice he heard could only be described as entirely stoic, and as he looked up, he noticed a kunoichi with blonde hair and notably large breasts. She was armed with a tanto, though thankfully, unlike his previous opponent her chakra was not otherworldly.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to," Naruto responded, and the moment he shifted his right foot slightly, she launched herself toward him.

Halfway toward him, she saw a pair of crimson eyes, and she immediately felt her entire body seize up, and she collapsed to the ground. Overall, it had taken no more than a second, and she could only helplessly watch as the intruder limped onward as if she hadn't even gotten in his way in the first place.

'Naruto Uzumaki,' she thought to herself as he walked out of sight. There was only one person in the world with Sharingan eyes and blonde hair. She recognized him immediately. It was the last thing that crossed her mind before she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

"How?" was all Darui could get out as he laid flat on his back, unable to move his body even an inch.

For what it was worth, Shisui did appear slightly winded as he stood over his now-defeated opponent. Using his Mangekyo was always incredibly stressful, especially when he needed to use the Susanoo. It felt like all of his cells were on fire and that his bones were being crushed under the weight of an entire building.

"This was pretty fun, but I have to go now," Shisui responded, but before he left, he looked back down toward his enemy one last time.

Darui felt as if ice water was injected into his veins as he stared into the almost demonic Sharingan eyes glowing through the holes of his opponents mask. The killer intent he was bombarded with was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, as even the sheer weight of the Raikage's rage paled in comparison.

"Next time we meet, I'll kill you...Darui of Kumo."

Then, like a phantom in the night, he vanished. He appeared quite some distance away, atop a building that gave him a relatively adequate view of the village. He was confident enough in his comrade to assume that he'd successfully retrieved the Kohaku no Jōhei. Now, it was his responsibility to find him so they could get the hell out of here.

It took about five minutes of searching until he finally found Naruto. He was clearly very injured, to the point where only basic stealth was possible for him as he limped through the shadows as best he could.

"Naruto!" he whispered harshly, loud enough to where he could be heard while still not alerting anyone else nearby. Without a second thought, he teleported to his friend's side and put his arm over his shoulder to support his weight.

"Are you okay?" he asked, receiving a tired nod in response. "Where's the target?"

Without a word, Naruto handed him a scroll, which he assumed had the Kohaku no Jōhei sealed inside of it. As he took it and placed it into his pouch, he wondered what kind of opponent would be capable of giving Naruto such a beating. The last time he recalled Naruto being in such as state was after his fight with Yugito Nii, and even then it was nothing this serious.

"We need to see to that leg, buddy," he said before smiling warmly. "But you did it. Good job."

Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling as well. Shisui's smile was always so contagious, mostly due to the fact that it was so genuine. Then, however, he remembered their situation. They were in enemy territory, and he had just finished a fight against the strongest person he'd ever faced in his life. They were far from safe.

"We need to hurry," Naruto warned, sounding as if he remembered something horrible. "He's probably right on my heels."

"Who is-"

Predictably, he was interrupted as someone crashed into the ground directly behind them. Shisui's eyes widened as he took note of the fact that the man was cloaked in bubbling orange chakra. While he'd never met one before, he was obviously now face-to-face with a Jinchuuriki. He'd never felt so much chakra in a single person before. Only Naruto's came close, but at least this felt like it belonged to a human.

The man inside of the chakra grinned, revealing sharpened canines, "Found ya, ya fool!"

"This a friend of yours?" Shisui asked, though he received no response from Naruto, who at this point had completely lost consciousness.

He almost made a cheeky comment about how things possibly couldn't get any worse, but just as he did, he felt another, equally powerful presence crash down roughly ten paces behind him. Apparently, it was customary for people in Kumo to crash onto the ground like a meteorite. It was most likely done in a way to look as badass as possible...Shisui could dig it.

"You bastards!" the new arrival shouted, and Shisui's eyes nearly popped out of his mask when he recognized this new threat as the Raikage himself, cloaked in pure lightning.

This man was regarded as arguably the strongest of all the Five Kage, and if not that, he was definitely viewed as the most powerful when it came to raw physical strength. It was said that back in the day, the only person who was faster than him was the Yellow Flash, Naruto's father, which spoke volumes about how incredibly gifted this hulk of a man truly was.

"Brother.."

After Shisui heard the Jinchuuriki address the Raikage as his brother, he comically looked back and forth between the two men and noted that there was a pretty good resemblance. They were both physically impressive enough to where they looked more like professional bodybuilders than actual shinobi.

"Bee," the Raikage spoke menacingly. "Let's do it."

Shisui felt the hair on the back of his neck as he prepared for what was about to happen, "Okay, brother," he heard the Jinchuuriki respond, and without another word, the two men both blurred toward him with astounding speed.

With his Sharingan activated, he was surprised that it was still rather difficult to predict the Raikage's movements due to his insane speed. He and his brother both closed in on him in about the blink of an eye, and they each had one of their arms extended, as if they were going to take off his head in a coordinated attack. The attack inched closer and closer, and just as it was nearly an inch away from striking true, he heard them both shout.

"Double Lariat!"

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Taking a page out of my buddy HorrificallyDreadful's book with that cliffhanger. Don't worry though, it won't become a regular thing...probably.**

 **I'm probably as excited as you guys to finally have this chapter out. The reason it took so long was because I'm also working on another massive project that I'll eventually be posting onto this account, so be ready for that when it finally drops. Either way, this story will continue to be updated until it is completed, so don't worry about that.**

 **As usual, thank you all for your continued support. It's definitely appreciated.**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. All characters in this story, excluding those that are created by me, are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Please show support by reading or watching the original source material.**

* * *

 **~Naruto, the Second Coming: Chapter Twelve~**

* * *

" **Izumi Gaiden: Anbu Adventures Part One"**

After meeting her squad for the first time, Izumi was wondering how she would fit in with them. Even before the initial meeting she was skeptical of whether or not she'd be able to relate to them due to the inevitable gap in age. Despite this, she honestly felt that such issues would be quelled due to the fact that the Konoha Anbu Black Ops was a bastion of discipline and professionalism, and she assumed that her squad would reflect all of these characteristics.

She was wrong. In fact, her squad was just about the opposite of what she had expected it to be.

Now, as she was traveling along with her new comrades to a team meeting, she couldn't help recall how things had begun.

 _(A Few Minutes Prior)_

 _The first thing Izumi noticed upon entering the locker room was that everyone in her squad was already wearing their masks, leaving her as the only one with her face and identify unconcealed. It didn't really bother her, frankly, since she pretty much assumed that they would all know who she was anyway. Not that she was arrogant, but there weren't many eleven-year-old prodigies in the Uchiha clan._

" _I've been assigned to the Anbu as of today," Izumi stated after hearing the door close behind her back. "My name is Izumi Uchiha. I'd appreciate your guidance."_

 _For the most part, her entrance didn't receive much attention from her new comrades. She counted four in total, outside of herself, and for the most part, they all appeared to be males (based on what she could see). While much of their appearances were concealed due to their masks, it was quite evident that they were all somewhere in the age range of late-twenties to mid-thirties._

 _She absentmindedly observed one of her new comrades, who appeared as though he was approaching seven feet (2.1336 meters) tall, when she was approached by another, far more average-looking man. Oddly enough, he removed his mask, so Izumi was able to take in his short brown hair, black, almond-shaped eyes and his unique happuri-style forehead protector that framed his face._

" _Ah, so you must be the new one. I'm Tenzō," he greeted friendlily enough with a slight smile. "You can use the locker furthest to the back. We have you positioned so you won't have to worry about any wandering eyes while changing."_

 _Izumi noticed a definite narrowing of the Tenzō's eyes as he glanced over at a particular Anbu operative, who she assumed was more than likely the person with the 'wandering eyes' to which he had referred. The apparent pervert seemed about average in terms of stature, which only made him appear rather comical standing in the same vicinity as the hulking giant she had noticed earlier. Though in reality, she was hardly one to talk, considering the fact that she was now by far and away the shortest member of the squad, and perhaps in the entirety of the Anbu Black Ops._

" _You know, one of our members was pretty excited to learn that you'd be joining our squad," Tenzō continued as he directed her to where her locker would be. "She's the only other woman in the squad, so you two have lockers next to each other."_

 _After turning the corner of the divided section of the locker, Izumi was greeted with the sight of a female Anbu, just as Tenzō had promised. She actually appeared to be quite young, with a lithe five and a half foot (1.6764 meters) build and waist-length straight purple hair. Her features were hidden behind her mask, so as she turned to face them, Izumi wasn't quite sure what her reaction was._

 _Tenzō patted her lightly on the shoulder before turning to head to his own locker, "Alright then, I'll leave you ladies to it then. The Captain will be here in about five minutes to gather us all for a meeting, so try to be ready by then."_

 _As he left, Izumi was left awkwardly alone with the purple-haired woman, who seemed intent on staring at her without saying a single word. Then, she stood to her feet and removed her mask, revealing a beautiful face with warm, brown eyes. She then smiled and extended a hand, and Izumi was quick to place the tray of Anbu attire she had been given on the bench so she could reciprocate the gesture._

" _Hi, I'm Cat," the girl greeted, revealing her codename. "But you can call me Yūgao when we aren't on missions."_

 _Izumi nodded in understanding, "I'm Izumi. I haven't been assigned a codename yet."_

 _Yūgao's smile widened a bit, and she gestured toward what Izumi assumed was her new locker. Accepting the verbal cue, Izumi put on her armor, opting to simply put it over her regularly shinobi attire. This left her with a standard Uchiha high-colored black shirt underneath her gray Anbu vest, straying from the standard sleeveless shirt that most Anbu, including Yūgao, tended to wear. Furthermore, she retained her shinobi sandals and white ankle wraps in place of the shin-high sandals that the Anbu had provided for her._

" _I wouldn't worry too much about your codename," Yūgao continued. "The Captain is the one who gets to decide what yours will be, and for the most part, his choices are agreeable enough. Though, I imagine Tenzō would disagree."_

 _Izumi blinked in confusion, instantly remembering Tenzō as the nice man who was the first to speak with her, "What do you mean? What's wrong with his codename?"_

 _An amused look passed over Yūgao's face, and she shook her head mirthfully, "It's better that you don't know," she responded in a low voice. "Everyone just calls him Tenzō during missions anyway. He claims he prefers it since the name apparently has some sentimental value, but honestly, I'd wager it's because the Captain gave him pretty much the most ridiculous codename possible."_

 _It would appear that her new Captain was a man with a sense of humor; either that or a mean streak. Either way, Izumi would do her best to stay on his good side, which she was planning to do anyway since she didn't accept subpar performance as a shinobi, and her tenure in the Anbu would be no exception. Hopefully, she'd be able to meet all of his expectations._

" _You know, everyone here's going to try and act all cool, like they haven't heard of you, but we've all heard the rumors," Yūgao continued, in what Izumi assumed as a compliment. "I mean, we're Anbu, so we've all been considered exceptional youths when compared to our peers, but not to the same degree as you; at least not from what I've heard."_

" _Thank you, but I still have a lot to learn," Izumi responded. "You've been very helpful so far."_

 _Yūgao's back was to her, but Izumi was still able to see the flattered smile that passed over her face. It was evident that up until now, she had been the little girl of the squad that everyone needed to help out, but now she was getting to learn what it felt like to be a mentor to someone. It had to have felt good, Izumi thought to herself. Maybe she'd get to feel that someday?_

 _It was then that the locker room door opened once again, and everyone gathered to the middle of the room to stand before the visitor. Izumi felt Yūgao guide her along, and she knew pretty quickly that she was likely about to meet her new Captain._

 _When she saw him, she noted that he was anything if not unique. He had spiky silver hair which seemed oriented to his left-side, along with an Anbu mask that she instantly felt was much more interesting looking than her own, which was very dull in comparison. For a moment, she felt like she saw something odd through the left eye-hole of his mask, but it was too dark for her to see anything clearly._

" _Captain," Tenzō greeted, being the first to speak. "The new recruit arrived on schedule."_

" _Ah, that's good," the Captain remarked, his voice sounded far more laidback than she had anticipated. "At least we know she can arrive on time."_

 _The other members of the squad moved to the side so that the Captain could stand before her directly, and Izumi could only stand awkwardly as he seemed to observe her silently. His eyes were completely hidden from view, so the only cues she could get of what he was thinking were from unintentional physical movements, like posture. She was surprised when even the way that he was standing gave away anything about what he was thinking._

" _Weasel."_

 _Izumi blinked back twice, and it took all of her self control to stop herself from merely replying with an undignified 'huh.' After a second of composing herself, she straightened her posture and spoke, "Pardon me, sir?"_

 _Her Captain tilted his head and responded, "Sir?" he seemed to ponder out loud. "How do you know that I'm a sir? I could very well be a woman."_

" _Are you a woman?"_

" _No."_

 _The first thing that came to Izumi's mind was that this man reminded her of Shisui._

" _You said Weasel, Captain," she elaborated, deciding to use a gender-neutral title when addressing him to avoid any more of his blatant teasing._

 _It took the man a moment before he spoke once more, "Ah, yes. That's your codename. Weasel. We all have one."_

 _Her Captain then pointed to himself, "I'm Dog, but you can just call me Captain," he explained before gesturing toward each of her new squadmates one by one._

" _That over there is Cat," he said as he pointed to Yūgao. "Don't let her cute little demeanor fool you; she's pretty much death on legs."_

 _Izumi could practically see the blush from behind Yūgao's mask at the compliment, and she was quickly beginning to realize that he new teammate wasn't very good at handling compliments or praise. It was rather amusing, actually, and it was clear that the Captain knew this too, which was probably why he complimented her in the first place._

 _The Captain then pointed to the giant man she had seen earlier, "This here is Bull," he explained. "Fitting, right? I wanted to call him Mouse as a joke, but who would risk angering that giant? He's a real softie when you get to know him though."_

 _The giant in question didn't appear to react at all to the comment, which led her to believe that he wasn't, in fact, a softie. From underneath his armor, which like all standard Anbu attire was very form-fitting, only really covering the chest, back, and forearms, she was able to see that he was absolutely jacked. He also appeared to be bald, which was visible from behind his mask._

" _Next on the list is Badger," the Captain continued, gesturing toward the man that she earlier identified as the squad pervert. "Overall, a pretty good guy with some great taste in literature. He's been on this squad longer than anyone else here, including myself, so be sure to speak with him if you have any questions about how things work here in the Anbu."_

 _Badger gave the Captain a thumbs up while at the same time appearing to be reading from a copy of what appeared to be one of those erotic novels that Naruto's godfather Jiraiya was known to write. That right there confirmed his perverted nature, while also hinting at the possibility that her Captain also considered himself a fan of Make-Out Paradise. Overall, Badger looked pretty average compared to Bull, with brown hair that seemed to be swept back, along with a slightly tan complexion._

" _And who could forget Bird," the Captain said, still not sounding all that enthusiastic at all, tilting his head to another member of the squad. "He's our resident infiltration specialist, so make sure to ask him for advice if you ever feel as though your stealth skills are inadequate."_

 _The comment made Bird cross his arms, and Izumi swore that she heard the man scoff. This didn't go unnoticed by the Captain, whose gaze seemed to linger on him for a few moments before moving on. It made Izumi wonder if Bird had an issue with the Captain, or with her, but she wasn't able to dwell on it for long as the Captain seemed to finally be wrapping up his little introduction as he finally got to Tenzō. Either way, the man had spiky straw-colored hair and a mask that was shaped with a bird beak._

" _And last but certainly not least-"_

" _Tenzō," the man in question hurriedly interrupted before the Captain could finish. "As I said earlier, you can call me Tenzō. It's nice to have you on the team."_

 _The Captain appeared to sigh behind his mask, "Ah, Tenzō, we talked about this, didn't we?" he said in what appeared to be his best rendition of a lecturing tone. "You can't keep shying away from your codename. I spent quite a while choosing it for you, and it isn't fair of you to just toss it to the side."_

" _I appreciate the thought, Captain, but I'm fine with Tenzō. Thank you."_

 _The last thing that crossed Izumi's mind as and her new team funneled out of the locker room for an apparent meeting at a local training ground was that they were all a lot more...eccentric...than she had anticipated._

(Back in the Present)

They all arrived at the training ground at about the same time. Izumi marveled at how Bull managed to land without any sound whatsoever despite his massive frame, and the rest of the group formed a makeshift circle as they seemed to prepare for the Captain to speak first.

"Alright, the topic of today's meeting will be explaining to Weasel here how Squad Ro works," he began. "As you may know, we're Lord Hokage's personal squad, so we're held to an even higher standard than the rest of the Corp. Don't allow that to go to your head though."

Izumi merely nodded. So far it was all stuff that she already knew.

"Rarely does the entire squad get assigned to a single mission," Tenzō spoke up, and Izumi realized that anyone in the squad could speak up during meetings if they felt they had anything relevant to say. "Most of the time we're assigned to do missions as pairs or as individuals. Only during times of war or emergencies do we all need to assemble together."

In all honesty, Izumi expected otherwise, but she wasn't surprised. It was more efficient having a single Anbu squad taking on several missions at once, in place on having them all only complete one together. Still, it meant that she would at least need to form amicable relationships with all of her new squadmates since it was possible she could be paired with any of them for missions. On the one hand, it didn't seem all that bad, since she already felt comfortable around Tenzō and Yūgao. However, even now, she could practically feel Bird giving her the stink eye, which led her to believe that things may not be completely peachy.

"Well put, Tenzō. You're a gentleman and a scholar," the Captain complimented in his laidback, almost lazy way. "Anyone else have any input for our new comrade?"

"Never use anyone's real name in the field," Badger said, his perverted novel now nowhere to be seen. "It seems obvious, but over the years, I've seen plenty of people slip up and call someone by their real name in the heat of the moment. Worst case scenario, it'll put your comrade and their loved ones in danger, so try to be careful."

Izumi nodded once more, "Thank you. I'll be sure to be mindful of what I say."

She could see why it would be easy to slip up and call someone their name by mistake. In fact, she already noticed that she was thinking of Yūgao by her actual name and not by Cat, her codename. If they were to go on a mission together right now, she'd need to make a conscious effort to not accidentally reveal her identity to the enemy.

"Speaking of watching what you say. Keep your mouth shut about any classified information that comes to your attention," Bird said–no spat. "Especially when you're back in your little clan compound."

The comment was quick to earn a response from the Captain, "Ishido, that's enough."

Bird, whose real name was apparently Ishido, was fast to reply, "We're all thinking it, Captain. Having someone from that clan on our squad-"

"The Captain said enough, Ishido," Yūgao interrupted, her hands on her hips in a clear showing of irritation. "Keep your prejudices in your head where they won't get you into any trouble."

"Prejudices?" Bird repeated, sounding both surprised and annoyed. "I'd better describe it as logic. You're in the Anbu. You should know the Uchiha better than most at this point. I don't know what Lord Hokage was thinking putting-"

Bird was interrupted once more, but this time it was by a hand being placed on his shoulder. The hand, which would be better described as a paw due to the sheer size of it, belonged to Bull, who was looming behind Bird like an intimidating shadow.

"Obey...the Captain," Bull instructed, speaking in a slow and methodical voice, which was every bit as deep as Izumi expected it to be.

To his credit, Bird hardly seemed intimidated, and he simply crossed his arms and shifted his attention elsewhere. Meanwhile, Izumi simply watched the whole debacle with an impassive gaze, though it was all hidden behind her mask. She was no stranger to the tensions between her clan and the rest of the village, so she wasn't surprised that one of her new squadmates didn't seem to trust her all that much.

Silence then reigned, an awkward silence that left the majority of the squad looking to one another in order to figure out what to do. It was finally the Captain who spoke, ending the meeting and letting everyone know that they would be taking missions starting tomorrow. Bird was the first to leave, vanishing in a body flicker. He was quickly followed by Badger and then Bull, who departed in a similar manner. It was just her, the Captain, Yūgao, and Tenzō now.

"Izumi," the Captain then said, his voice oddly serious. "I wasn't aware that Bird's ability to control himself would be compromised with you on the squad. If you wish, I can speak with Lord Hokage on your behalf."

Izumi was quick to dismiss the severity of the altercation, "It's fine, Captain. I'm not bothered by it," she explained. "I'm aware that there are tensions between my clan and the rest of the village. It isn't something that I intend to shy away from or ignore. This is simply what I will have to deal with."

Though his face remained hidden behind his mask, it was clear to Izumi that the Captain still remained slightly unconvinced. Regardless, her assurance seemed to ease his worries enough, and he told the remainder of the squad to relax and prepare for missions the following day. He then gave them all a casual thumbs up before vanishing into thin air.

* * *

For her first day of active duty, Izumi was unsurprised to discover that she would be working with Yūgao–or Cat in this particular case. Today would be simple patrol duty as they'd monitor for any suspicious activity and just overall take measures to keep the peace within the village. It wasn't precisely the special ops, covert kind of mission that she had been expecting, but not all missions could be like that, she supposed.

The two teenage girls hopped from rooftop to rooftop with practiced ease as their eyes scanned the surrounding area. Meanwhile, Izumi subtly took mental notes of Yūgao's behavior so that she could learn as much as possible from her new senior comrade. At the moment, however, things were kind of slow, so there wasn't really all that much to learn or observe.

After a while, they came across something that warranted their attention as they noticed what appeared to be a crowd forming in the middle of what was usually a busy marketplace. At the center, and evidently, the cause of the commotion, was a fight taking place between two men. They both appeared bruised up, and at this point were wrestling with each other on the ground.

"Well, here's our first task for the day," Yūgao remarked as she casually observed the dispute.

Izumi was admittedly a bit perplexed, "Doesn't this seem like a task for suited to the Police Force?"

"Yeah, but we're here, and they aren't," Yūgao retorted with a simple shrug. "There's no point in us just ignoring it and waiting for them to show up. So go ahead and take care of it."

"Me?"

While it was impossible to see, Izumi could easily imagine Yūgao rolling her eyes underneath her mask.

"Of course. The whole reason we're out here is for you to gain some experience," she explained. "Now, just go down there and push your weight around a little. That usually gets the job done."

Not needing to be prompted any further, Izumi nodded in confirmation before leaping from the rooftop and landing directly next to the altercation in question. Much of the crowd that had been surrounding the scuffle took a cautious step back when they took note of her mask and armor, but the two that were fighting hardly even seemed to notice that she was there.

Then, a gust of chilly air seemed to blow over the two men, and the froze in place as if they had been approached by a ghost. Slowly, they turned to face the figure in question, and their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls when they saw a masked child with demonic-red eyes gazing down at them.

"Return to your homes."

The voice, augmented and terrifying was enough to make them comply, and they and the rest of the crowd ran away with their tails tucked between their legs. Finally, the street was empty, and for a few moments, there was complete silence before Izumi heard uproarious laughter directly behind her. She turned and saw Yūgao casually perched on the edge of a nearby rooftop, apparently having found the display to be amusing.

"I'm certain those two won't be causing more trouble anytime soon," Yūgao complimented. "Well done."

Izumi was pleased by the praise.

* * *

"Now, this may seem tedious, but it's a part of the job that you'll need to get used to," Tenzō explained, as he and Izumi navigated the thick forests that made up the outside of Konoha's walls.

Izumi was beginning to notice that much of her job would involve patrolling. During times of peace such as these, there was little need for her and her comrades to be sent on assassination and espionage missions, so now it appeared that their primary duty was protecting the village from outside threats.

"I don't mind it," Izumi responded as they took a moment to rest on a particularly large tree branch. "I enjoy the forest."

Tenzō hummed behind his mask, "You truly are a strange youth," he remarked, causing Izumi to tilt her head in confusion.

"I mean it as a compliment, of course," Tenzō quickly continued. "Most your age are eager to leap headfirst into action. Yūgao was like that when she was first recruited into the squad. Taking her out on missions like this was like pulling teeth."

The thought of a younger Yūgao pestering her superiors from a chance at some actual action brought a small smile to Izumi's face. That sort of eagerness to prove yourself reminded her a bit of Sasuke and Mito, and she wondered if she could ever recall a time in which she had ever been that way. From what her parents told her though, she had always acted well above her age.

"How often do you encounter suspicious activity out here?" Izumi questioned, changing the subject.

Tenzō shrugged, "Somedays are slow like today, but most of the people that we apprehend out here are smugglers attempting to import and export illegal goods in and out of the village. They're easy enough to handle though."

"And then there are the spies attempting to disguise themselves as migrants and merchants, those are a lot harder to fish out," he continued. "Normally they're the people that you'd least expect, kids, the elderly, and women posing as mothers."

"Are people ever falsely detained under suspicion of espionage?"

The question seemed to make Tenzō pause for a moment before responding, "I'm sure that it happens all the time, but people like that are usually cleared during the vetting process," he explained, leading Izumi to nod in understanding. "It's tough, though. A lot of them are sleeper agents with falsely implanted memories, so sometimes they don't even know that they're spies."

With the growing tensions between the village and Kumogakure, it was very likely that there would be even more such people attempting the flood the village every day. Historically speaking, Iwagakure was the biggest offender when it came to espionage, but after the last war, they had been weakened significantly, in particular by the Yellow Flash, and since had adopted a more isolationist and defensive approach while they recovered. Now, Kumo was the global aggressor.

"So. Tomorrow I hear that you have your first mission with the Captain," Tenzō continued, keeping the conversation going as they continued to have nothing to do.

Izumi nodded, "Yes. The Captain told me that we've been assigned with guarding Lord Hokage."

"Ah. That's arguably the most important mission that we have, you know? It says a lot that the Captain would already trust you in doing so at such an early point in your career."

Izumi was about to thank her new comrade for the praise, but was forced to stop when he tensed up and raised a hand that immediately signaled to her that something was going on. Perceptive as she was, it took very little time for Izumi to notice it as well, a fairly sizable wagon that had been stopped by what appeared to be a squad of Konoha Police.

"The police stopping people all the way out here is unusual," Tenzō whispered before turning to Izumi. "Wait here and listen in on them. I'm going to get in closer."

After getting a nod of approval from his comrade, Tenzō silently went through a string of hand seals before he astonishingly began to meld with the tree branch that they had been perched on. Her Sharingan had been active as she observed him, so she was able to tell that the jutsu was not the same as the 'Hiding in the Surface Jutsu' that she regularly witnessed Toneri using. It was different, and unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Still, as professional as she was, Izumi was able to push her curiosity to the side and follow the order that she had been given. She focused entirely on the conversation that was taking place just a little off into the distance, and after a short while of blocking out any and all other noise, she was finally able to hear what they were saying.

"-as I said before, it's dangerous being a merchant these days," she heard the squad commander remark as the other Police Officers began searching the wagon. "You never know what might happen, so it's always better to be proactive. You know?"

Izumi was immediately able to recognize the officer that was speaking as Yashiro Uchiha, a very respected member of the clan and a high-ranking member of the Konoha Police Force. Among the rest of the squad, she was also able to recognize Inabi Uchiha and Tekka Uchiha, who were a bit on the younger side when compared to their comrade, but were equally admired for their abilities.

"What are you getting on about?" the merchant asked, clearly not satisfied at being stopped. Time was money, after all.

It was Inabi that then spoke, "Among all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, it is our Land of Fire that is the richest and most powerful, and at the center of that power lies Konohagakure. There is a reason that you come here to sell your goods, after all."

"So we're simply saying that it would be a shame if you were to be turned away before ever reaching the gates," Tekka remarked, continuing where Inabi left off. "The safest and most lucrative market in the world, and you wouldn't be allowed to sell your goods there."

Izumi wasn't liking what she was hearing, not one bit. It was obvious that her fellow clansmen were attempting to leverage their power in order to try and shakedown the merchant for a cut of his earnings. It was a tactic typically used by members of organized crime factions, that would tax all businesses in their territory, and if someone refused to pay, they weren't allowed to do business anymore. That, or they were taught a lesson.

"It's the cost of doing business in this village," Yashiro explained. "9% of whatever money you make selling in this village is bumped up to us, and in exchange, we let you in."

"That's bullshit!" the merchant shouted in justifiable anger, but was stopped when Inabi disappeared in a flash of speed and appeared mere inches away from his face.

"You could just turn back around and go sell elsewhere," he advised with a grin. "But I think we both know that even when giving up 9% of your earnings you'd still make far more money in our village than anywhere else. And if you think that they don't have a similar tax going on in the other villages, then that's just wishful thinking on your part."

The merchant, an older man, likely closer to sixty than fifty, could only stand there hopelessly as he realized that there was honestly nothing he could do. In the end, he could only manage a defeated nod, which appeared satisfactory enough. The other officers, who during the conversation were searching through the contents of the wagon, finally left it alone, and the merchant was finally allowed to leave.

However, before riding off, he offered some parting words, "Back home, people always spoke about how Konoha was different. They welcomed outsiders and promoted just and fair treatment of the innocent. I guess they were wrong. You're no different. Just the same."

The Uchiha officers hardly appeared concerned with his opinion, and ushered the man along. At this point, Izumi had seen quite enough and decided that this offense was clearly one that warranted an immediate arrest. However, before she could do so, something gripped her ankle, stopping her in place. When she looked down, she was surprised to see a hand protruding from the branch. Shortly after, Tenzō emerged from the tree, similarly to how he disappeared.

"What are we waiting for?" Izumi inquired softly. "What more is there to see?"

"This is a sensitive matter, as I'm sure you know," Tenzō explained, and as he did Izumi noted that the Uchiha police were now gone. "This is something that should be brought to Lord Hokage's attention first. We already identified who they of are, and they don't know that they were being watched. There's no rush, so we should be as careful as possible."

Izumi supposed he was right. The last thing that was needed was for relations between the village and the Uchiha clan to degrade even further. Arresting Yashiro, Inabi, and Tekka there and now was undoubtedly the right thing to do, but it would both anger the clan and only further blemish the reputation of the Uchiha clan and the police as a whole. Nevertheless, it left a sour taste in her mouth, watching them getaway.

Nevertheless, as usual, Izumi reigned in her emotions and did as she was told.

* * *

It was weird seeing the Hokage looking so serious. Throughout all of her life, Izumi had always viewed the leader of her village as a sort of grandfatherly figure. He was always compassionate and easygoing, even when handing out dangerous missions. Now, however, upon hearing the bad news that Izumi and Tenzō had just brought him, he was almost entirely unreadable as he stared out of the window in thought.

"Lord Hokage, for all we know, similar demands are being made of all of the merchants coming in and out of the village," Kakashi explained, having been one of the few people that had been let in the loop.

Tenzō had felt that it was best to bring the information to the Captain first, seeing as circumventing him and going straight to the Hokage would be a violation of the chain of command. When he heard the news, his posture immediately looked even more slumped and tired than it normally did, and it was clear that he fully understood the possible repercussions of this new information.

"I am aware of that possibility, Kakashi," the Hokage remarked, his gaze still fixed outside. Oddly enough, his voice was almost casual, as if none of this was fazing him at all. "I am very much aware."

Silence then reigned. It was an awkward silence, and Izumi began to shuffle her feet despite herself. This conversation–this situation...it all felt so beyond her. The consequences of this new information could reverberate throughout the entire village, affecting anyone and everyone. They'd needed to think carefully about what they were going to do.

The Hokage then finally swiveled his chair back around to face them and sighed, "In truth, I almost wish that this would have never come to my attention," he revealed. "I've had suspicions of such activity for quite some time, but it was always easier to simply ignore the possibility and pray that my gut feeling was wrong. If I never confirmed my suspicions, I'd never have to take action. I suppose that was easier."

No one else in the room spoke as the Hokage spoke. This entire situation was painting the Hokage as more of a vulnerable figure than Izumi had perviously believed him to be. For the first time, she viewed him as the human being that he was, rather than the indomitable pillar that held the entire weight of the village on his shoulders.

"Tell me, young Izumi," he continued as he stood his old and weary body out of his chair. "What do you suppose should be done about all of this?"

To say that Izumi was shocked at being called on would be an understatement. Even Kakashi and Tenzō couldn't help but raise their brows at the Hokage's question. It was quite strange to see the Hokage appearing as though he wasn't entirely sure about what decision he was going to make. Even more peculiar, was that he valued the opinion of someone that had so little experience.

"I suppose we should initiate an investigation of our own before we take any drastic action," Izumi proposed. Outwardly, she appeared unfazed by what was going on, but deep in her chest, her heart was pounding under the pressure of being forced to make such a decision. It only made her wonder if the Hokage had to feel this way every day.

The Hokage merely nodded silently at the proposal before glancing to Kakashi, apparently desiring for him to weigh in and offer his opinion as well. For a moment, Kakashi didn't notice the gaze, but as soon as he did gave a casual thumbs up, apparently approving of Izumi's assessment.

"Right now we'd only have a case against the one squad," he said. "Until we do some digging, we can't be sure of whether or not this is simply a couple of corrupt officers or if it's traceable back all the way to the top."

The top? Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Izumi immediately felt her heart sink down into her stomach. Her father WAS the top of the Uchiha Police Force. The very thought of him being complicit in extortion was something that she was finding very difficult to swallow. For all of his flaws, her father was an honorable man. He valued law and order, and he respected both. He wasn't the kind of man that would sanction this...was he?

"It would seem that I have much to think about," the Hokage remarked tiredly, and with an almost weary smile. "I'm sorry that you three must share in the stress of this matter. Especially you, Izumi. I imagine this must all be incredibly difficult for you."

Izumi immediately shook her head, "I understand my duty, Lord Hokage," she declared calmly. "I'm not one to ignore a problem in order to pretend that it doesn't exist. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that the village emerges from this predicament unscathed."

Her answer seemed to satisfy the Hokage, whose smile became far more genuine for a brief moment as he was assured of Izumi's loyalty. Personally, he trusted her as much as he did any of his other subordinates, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that she was currently being put in a challenging position. Because, despite the fact that she was wise beyond her years, she was still a member of the Uchiha clan, so asking her to side against them to any degree was something that the Hokage wasn't sure he was comfortable doing.

"Very well," he said after an intake of breath. "You are all dismissed."

Once he was left alone, the Hokage sat back down and turned to stare out of the window once more. This news was coming almost immediately after he'd set another pair of Anbu to infiltrate Kumogakure, so prior to being made aware of this possible corruption in the police force, he'd already had quite a lot on his plate. It was moments like this that he wished Minato was still alive. He had no doubt that his predecessor would be handling all of this much better.

"Old age has made me weak," he remarked to himself solemnly as he watched the evening sun sink below the trees and the village become enveloped by darkness.

* * *

Dinner at the Uchiha household was a standard affair. Lengthy bouts of silence that would occasionally be interrupted by a question or a comment, typically from Mikoto. Now, however, the silence carried even more weight than it usually did, as everyone, couldn't help but notice the empty chair at the table. It had been a couple of days since Naruto left on his mysterious mission, and despite not being one that would be considered the 'life of the party' he was surely missed.

"Mother, when will big brother be back?" Sasuke asked after picking at his food. "He said that he was going to help me with my shurikenjutsu and then he just left."

"I'm not sure, Sasuke," Mikoto confessed, but then a small smile passed over her face. "Why don't you ask your big sister for help?"

Izumi nearly chuckled when Sasuke glanced at her with thinly veiled skepticism. When compared to his idol, Naruto, even his big sister couldn't compare.

"Yeah but...but," Sasuke began before leaning toward his mother and whispering. "But she's a girl."

Mikoto leaned back in her chair and raised her brows, "And girls don't know how to throw shuriken? Is that what you're saying?"

"Well...yeah!" he sputtered in response. "They can't throw shuriken better than big brother can!"

"Nuh-uh!" Mito shouted, inserting herself into the conversation. "You need a big brain to throw shuriken, and girls have bigger brains than boys!"

"Then how come you have some of the worst shurikenjutsu scores in class? You dummy," Sasuke countered before sticking his tongue out tauntingly, sparking Mito's ire.

Izumi took this as her moment to zone out, as she was smart enough to realize that this would mark the beginning of one of Sasuke and Mito's infamous arguments. She subtly shifted her attention to her father, who also seemed to be ignoring the theatrics in favor of enjoying his meal. He sat, unaware of her gaze...unaware of the thoughts that were chaotically raging throughout her head.

Did he know? Was he aware of the illegal tax being enforced on merchants entering the village? If not, his subordinates were betraying his trust and displaying an apparent lack of respect for his authority. If he did know about it, that would make him responsible, and even worse, it raised the possibility that they were doing this under his orders. The very thought set her teeth on edge.

Eventually, her father perked up and looked towards her, finally aware that she had been staring at him for some time. For a moment, the two stared into each other's eyes, with neither blinking or relinquishing any ground. It this moment, Izumi felt as though she was peering into his soul, and yet, even then she was unsure of what she was truly looking at. For the first time in her life, she questioned what kind of man her father truly was.

"Is everything alright, Izumi?" her father then asked, his voice stern and serious, as always. It was clear that he was able to sense that something was amiss. "Did something happen today?"

Izumi's mind was racing at a mile a minute. If her father wasn't involved, then he deserved to know of the corruption brewing within the Police Force. But, if he did know, then telling him anything would only make an investigation of the matter impossible. She felt as if her body was being torn in two as she was forced to choose between her loyalty to the clan and her loyalty to the village. It was an impossible decision, but in the end, she made her choice.

"No, father. Nothing happened."

* * *

 **~End~**

* * *

 **Hello again, guys! Thanks for tuning into my story again. I hope that you're as excited about this new shift in the story as I am. For the most part, the entire story thus far has been centered around the main protagonist, Naruto, but now, other characters are beginning to get their much-deserved shine. This chapter marks the beginning of a three-chapter arc centered around Izumi and her fellow Anbu attempting to investigate possible corruption in the Konoha Police Force. This arc will start bringing more light to the tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan, highlighting a very real problem that Naruto and Izumi will need to contend with in the future.**

 **Now, I'm aware that I left you all on a cliffhanger the last chapter, and I'd like for you to know that it wasn't always my intention to start this new arc with Chapter 12. Initially, Chapter 12 was going to serve as an immediate follow-up to Chapter 11, but I've decided to take things into a different direction. Don't worry though, this arc is still connected to everything else that is happening in the story, so try not to view it as a divergence from the main plot. This is a major part of the main story and isn't simply a side story like Toneri's mini-chapter.**

 **Anyway, you'll all the get answer to what happened to Naruto and Shisui sometime in Chapter 14. Once again, thank you guys so much for reading. I really appreciate all of your continued support and feedback!**


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